White Snow Dimensia
by Kamikimmy13
Summary: Shirayuki Winter is like any other teen whose life at most can be described as uneventful. But when a strange phenomenon occurs that leaves the sky torn in half, she suddenly finds herself in a strange new world...There will be fates intertwined, questions that demand answering, and a past that must be reconciled with. X-over between FF7,10, and 13.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

* * *

_I remember that day like it was yesterday._  
_Its events will forever be imprinted into my mind. I will always be able to replay it as though I were re-living the same day for the rest of eternity._  
_That day goes by so many names: "The Day the Sky Parted," "The Day the Sun Went Black," "Doomsday," "Armageddon." However, it was not just the end of the world—it was the end of my world._  
_It was the beginning of a new world, which I could only describe as a living, breathing hell._

* * *

"I win," Kobe said flatly.

Frustrated, I tossed my Xbox controller onto the floor and crossed my arms. I shot a death glare at my brother, who had a smug look on his face. Couldn't say I blamed him, though. I mean, I would too if I'd just beaten my older sister for the fourteenth time in a row in the easiest fighting game known to man. Honestly, I can't think of anything more humiliating or depressing.  
"Want another go?" he finally asked after he got the hint that I wasn't talking to him. I shook my head, and turned my nose up at the air.

"No, I'm tired of letting you win," I said, and then thought, _"So much for the silent treatment."_

Kobe let out a cough and turned back to the screen. "Winter, you suck," he said with a cheesy smirk. He pressed the "REMATCH" button onscreen, then continued to mercilessly beat up my fighter, who of course did nothing to retaliate.

"Hey! Hey!" I yelled, grabbing my controller and pressing random buttons. "You coward!"

"Don't get mad at me 'cause you suck at fighting games!" Kobe snapped.

"Yeah, well YOU suck at life!"

"I'd rather suck at life than suck at fighting games! ...Wait..."

"You should re-think what you just said." I grinned, feeling victorious. Little brothers could be so naive. Kobe rolled his eyes, and we continued to play another round of _"Arcadian Warrior."_

That is how I usually spent most of the days of my life: sitting in the living room with my ten year-old brother, playing fighting games that, no matter how much practice I got, I never improved at. Every day Kobe and I would play this game, and every day of the one hundred-something rounds we'd play, I would usually win about ten of them.

Why did I continue to play them, one may ask? My own stubborn effort was the main reason.

The other half of my day was spent either drawing pictures, taking care of my two year-old brother Rei, or helping my mom around the house. But most of the time it was just me, Kobe, and the Xbox.

Today however was the event of, perhaps, my entire life. Any minute now, my dad would come home from work and whisk me off to Noburi Park where we were going to watch the super nova of the century! Apparently, a certain star that NASA had been keeping tabs on was set to explode in just a few hours.

This star was said to be the second closest to Earth's proximity next to the Northern Star, and its Supernova would be a once-in-a-lifetime sight. Me, being the astro-nerd that I am, just couldn't pass up a chance like this! After months of begging my parents prior to the day, raising my grades, and doing chores, I had finally convinced them to let me go by myself. Mom couldn't go because she had to stay at home and take care of Rei, whose metabolism wouldn't allow him to stay up late enough to watch it anyway; Kobe decided not to go because he thought that it was a waste of time; and Dad wasn't staying for long because he had to go back to another company meeting once he was done picking me up. It had made me sad that they weren't going to be able to come with me, but in life you take what's handed to you, and work for the rest.

Kobe and I finished our game. But before taking my leave to my room, I promised him that I would have revenge. He brushed it off and laughed at me, pointing to my heinous win-loss record on the screen. I did my best to ignore him as I thumped up the stairs to my bedroom and closed the door behind me. Then I began to organize a list of the things I would need for the day.

"Binoculars: check!" I said, tossing a worn-out pair of binoculars into a gym bag. "Sketchbook: check! Cell phone: check! Camcorder, extra glasses, emergency phonebook, wallet, notepad, blanket, diary: check, check, check, check, aaand check!" I smiled as I swept all of the items off of my bed and into the gym bag with the binoculars.

In truth, I hadn't really even needed a list. I'd known what to bring a long time ago, but having some kind of organization just secured my conscience, which had a habit of second-guessing itself.

I looked over the items inside the gym bag and pulled out my sketchbook, wondering whether or not I should really take it. My plan in taking the book with me was to draw the supernova, bring the sketch home, and paint it. One of the very few things I knew how to do well was draw. The others were the uncanny ability to fix technology without having to know anything about its make up, and the last was improvisation. The techy-stuff came at a later age, but I never thought much of it. I would rather use a game system than fix it. The improvisation as just something I was born with. For a long time during my childhood, I was a thought to be a pathological liar by my parents. I was actually addicted to lying until I ended up caught in something major, and my lying just became improvisation. The drawing however was something that I was proud of.

I was born with a top-tier memory. I could look at something for less than a few seconds and have its picture in my mind down to the finest detail. I'd remember it with pristine clarity for up to a week before it started to become foggy, and that ability had saved my skin many a time. With practice, I had become a fast sketcher, and was able to draw things in record time. Lately however, all of those talents were beginning to fade. It was like I literally woke up one day and forgot that I knew how to do anything.

As I was trying to find a just cause, Rei came wobbling into my room. He was wearing Dad's vacation shirt and a pair of Mom's favorite stiletto heels. On his head was a sombrero, and he had lipstick and shaving cream smeared all over his face. His arms were out at his sides as he tried to balance himself and walk into my room. Although I had to admit, he was doing better than I would if I were in those heels!

"Winna, wooook!" he cooed happily as he struck a pose. "I Cavin Kwine!"

_"Calvin Kline?"_ I translated in my head, looking down on my littlest brother with amusement. "Wow! You look so handsome Rei-kun! So cute, so cuuuute!"

I grabbed my cell phone out of my gym bag and began clicking like mad at the camera button. Every time the camera flashed, Rei struck a new pose. I stifled a giggle, but was smiling ear to ear. I really loved Rei, and wished he could come with me to the park...

"Where did you get those shoes?!" I gasped, furthering humoring the boy.

"The stoa!" he said proudly.

"And who did your makeup, Rei?"

"I did!" He grinned, striking another pose.

"And-"—I gasped—"that shirt! It's gorgeous! I MUST have it!" I got down on my hands and knees in front of Rei, and stared with exaggerated admiration at Dad's shirt.

Rei giggled and folded his arms. "You can't!" he said stubbornly.

"But I want it!" I whined.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"NO!"

"YEEEEESSSS!" I hissed, grabbing my brother into a hug and tickling him. His laughter was like an antidote. It made me happy.  
Meanwhile in the hallway, Mom was pulling Kobe by the ear down the hallway and into the laundry room.

"Honestly, Kobe!" she was saying. "Did you think that I wouldn't find the cookie wrappers in here? I wash all the laundry for crying out loud!"

"I'm sorry, Mom!" Kobe whimpered. "Please don't hurt me!"

"Hurt you? You're not going to get out of it that easily! I was baking those for my next book-club gathering! You're going to bake them all over again!"

"What?!" My eldest younger brother screeched.

"And you won't eat any dinner until you do!"

"That's not fair! I'll starve!" Kobe whined.

"Then you'd better get to work!"

"I'll call Child Protective Services on you!" Kobe threatened.

"Do it then!" Mom grinned. "Either way, you're baking those cookies!"

"I've been threatening to call the services since I was your age!" I yelled to Kobe whilst continuing to tickle Rei. "She really doesn't care!"

Kobe sulked and walked dejectedly down to the kitchen. Mom winked at me before following her son downstairs.

"Mama! Mama!" Rei called after my mom, breaking out of my grasp and waddling after her. "Wook at me, I'm Cavin Kwine!"

I heard the sound of a car horn honking and ran to the window. Dad's Honda was sitting on the sidewalk. He saw me through the car window and beckoned for me with his head to come downstairs. I smiled, and held up my pointer finger to tell him, "One minute!" then I snatched up my phone, sketchbook, and threw them all into the gym bag before thundering through the hallway and down the stairs.  
"Bye everyone!" I yelled to my family before leaving.

"Bye, my dear! Have an educational day! And don't go off with strangers!" Mom sang, waving me goodbye with her free hand, seeing as Rei was being held in the other.

"Bye, sis," Kobe mumbled as he walked into the kitchen, oven mitts on his hands.

"Bye-bye, Onee!" Rei cooed. "I wove you thiiiiis much!" He held his arms open and smiled at me.

"Wove you too!" I laughed, closing the living room door behind me.

When I got in the car, Dad had a content look on his face. He drove off the second I closed the door, and we road along in silence for a bit.

Dad was an amiable man. He worked hard, but he was really serious about his job. It had happened years prior, and since then he'd just kind of gotten distant. Dad used to sit on the living room couch, read the newspaper and chat with the family back when it was just the three of us. When Kobe was on the way, he started to get serious and stopped showing up around the house. Dad and I had started to have less face time.

When I was a little younger—maybe a little younger than Kobe—it used to break my heart. We'd been close. I remember wishing that he would just get fired so he would talk to me more again, but as I grew older I just had to deal with the fact that that was not going to happen. Since then, he'd been moving up in the ranks with his job, which meant we saw him less and less every day. Nowadays, we had idle chat here and there, but for the most part the most we ever said to each other was "Good Morning," and "Good Night." It was probably for the best, though. If Dad had never gotten so far-removed, then Mom would never be the best friend she is to me now.  
I stared into the rearview mirror, lost in memories. We were halfway to the park when I finally looked at Dad through the corner of my eye, grinned, and said: "So, how is work?"

"Same old, same old," he answered with a faint grin.

"Ah..." I replied, turning to face the window.

That was that of our conversation until we reached the park. There, Dad said: "Have a good time, and come home safe, alright?"  
And I said: "Thanks, Dad. See you soon!"

He waved to me then drove away. As he left, I turned on my heel and walked into the park, armed with my gym bag. A large clock built into the archway entrance of the park told me that the time was 7:15. I sighed. The supernova wasn't scheduled to begin until around midnight. Dad would still be at his meeting then and there was only one car, so I opted to take a bus. Dad, being the protective guy that he was, refused, but since there was no other way for me to get home he eventually agreed.

I sighed, then mumbled aloud, "What am I supposed to do for five hours?"

I found a comfortable spot after about an hour or so of searching for one with a view that I thought was perfect. It was on top of a hill that didn't have too many visitors. On top of this hill was a single weeping willow and it was surrounded by a patch of dandelions and beautiful green grass. It was extraordinarily tall for a tree of its kind, towering about 45 feet above ground. I spread my picnic blanket out underneath its shade and sat back against the tree trunk, pulling my sketchbook out of the gym bag. Not having anything else to do, I began to sketch the sunset.

I was putting a splash of orange paint on my picture when I suddenly looked up and realized that the sun had set three and a half hours ago. Stars were appearing in the sky now.

Alarmed, I put my sketchbook to the side and dug into my gym-bag to grab up my phone. It was 11:55. I sighed, relieved, and then took out my camcorder and camera. The star was supposed to explode at exactly 12:01 midnight.

More people had gathered around the hill I was on. Some had telescopes stationed on their picnic blankets, while others were sporting professional Nikon cameras around their necks. Only a few children were running around wildly playing tag and screaming at each other. I didn't see anyone my age within the range of people on the area below the hill. It didn't bother me, though; I'd known that this was probably how things would turn out.

By now, Rei was probably fast asleep, lost in his own realm of dreams. Kobe was asleep by now too, I figured, unless he was still baking cookies. Mom would be reclining on her bed with one of her favorite books or a picture album in her hands. And Dad, unless by some miracle he'd gotten released from pris—work, was still in the company building. He wouldn't be getting home until much later.  
I sighed, feeling slightly guilty that I wasn't at home. Then, putting my sneaker on the willow tree's trunk, with my cell-phone in hand, I hoisted myself up to a seat near the willow's peak using its branches. It was illegal to do this, but I figured I would think of some kind of explanation should I get caught.

I sat near its peak trying not to look down and just enjoy the view. I had a crippling fear of heights, but ironically I really enjoyed climbing things—namely trees. Just as I was considering the option to take a picture of the sky and send it to Mom and Dad via phone, the entire earth jolted and started to violently shake.

The previous calm and joyful atmosphere quickly turned chaotic: The same people who were laughing only a second ago now ducking and running for cover, or clinging onto someone. Off in the distance, car alarms were going off simultaneously, combined with the tumultuous sound of high-rise buildings starting to rattle and crumble. Dogs were barking, the lights in the park all automatically went off, children started crying and screaming for their mothers. Further down the hill, trees were starting to lean over and crash onto the earth. The people who couldn't run for cover were struggling to keep their balance, while others tried to crawl to safety.

"WHY IN GOD'S NAME IS THERE AN EARTHQUAKE NOW OF ALL TIMES?!" I screamed in my head, clinging to the weeping willow for dear life. I held my breath and buried my face into the tree, feeling scared for my life as I felt my feet dangle helplessly 45 feet above the ground. My most urgent desire was to somehow get off the tree, but with all of the severe shaking I already subconsciously knew that there was only one way for that to happen. I could only hope to God that the tree wouldn't come crashing down, because if it did, there was no improvising my way out of it.

Suddenly, a beautiful, heavenly light lit up the sky. It first illuminated the park, then the entire city, until it was lit as though it were daytime during the brightest day of summer. It was a supernatural, extraordinarily bright light that blinded everyone's eyes, and we all instinctively brought a hand up to them to keep them covered. The earth continued to rumble...but from what I could see through my squinted vision, the sky was...

_...splitting in half...?_

It was like divine hands had come out of nowhere and were literally tearing the sky down the middle. The rip was where the light was emanating from, and it spanned the length of the entire sky. There was no other explanation—supernovas don't happen like this.  
This was the end of the world.

The shaking became more violent, so much that it was becoming painful to hang onto the willow tree—its splintery wood was scratching my exposed skin. I was confused and terrified. I wished I had my mother or someone else to tell me what to do in a time like this; and knowing that I was alone just scared me even more. I mentally slapped myself for being so careless. I should have never come to watch in the first place!

That's when I heard it.

The dreaded, **"CRACK!"**

My heart stopped. Life slowed down...

...everything...

...slowed…

…down...

The willow tree had cracked directly down the center, and I was falling down with it. I watched and was dazed as my view slowly tilted upwards from overlooking the park to looking straight up at the divine light in the sky as the tree made its descent. I felt myself falling, and my conscience slowly slipping into darkness.

Just as quickly as it'd happened, the pandemonium ceased. It was still...

_...quiet..._

_...but dark..._

_…just...so dark..._

...

* * *

****And so ends the Prologue of "White Snow Dimensia."**

****Please tell me what you think of the prologue so far. Thank you C=**

**-Kamikimmy13**

****NOTE: This chapter has been edited. No major storyline plots were changed.**


	2. Chapter 1 - Two Strangers

**EDIT: This chapter has been edited. No major story plots were changed.**

* * *

**Chapter One **

I woke to the sound of angry winds.

It was the first thing I heard when my conscience started to slowly return to me. The kind of screaming, lonely wind that you hear during a terrible storm, only here there was no rain... at least, I didn't feel any...

I felt something hard beneath me, like gravel or stones yet...sedimentary. I also felt the overwhelming need to grab a blanket. That feeling of deep freezing is what jolted me awake, and I sat up immediately, reaching forward to grab some kind of cover. There...wasn't anything of the sort when I grasped the closest thing to me in my hand, but nothing could've made me as surprised and very confused as I was when I found that I had just picked up the skull of some kind of animal.

Overhead, the sky was an unnatural shade of red. It looked more like the color of blood compared to the more settling bright ruby red that came at sunset. The once white and natural clouds in the sky were hidden by enormous dust clouds moving at high-speeds and being propelled by the force of the wind. The ground I was sitting on was rust colored, arid and rocky. There were cracks all over the ground and massive stone fixtures were scattered randomly around the entire area, each the same color of the earth it stood upon. Some were piled precariously on top of one another, rocking back and forth with the wind. Others were lying flat on their backs, some as cracked as the ground itself. It looked like the whole world was like Mars: a red planet of death.

I wasn't so disturbed however. I took it all in as if I were acknowledging any other ordinary scene. There was an unbearable cold which was starting to wake me up, though. I grabbed at my shoulders and rubbed them, trying to keep myself warm. "Why does it feel like I'm skinny-dipping in the Arctic Ocean?" I asked myself, my teeth chattering. I didn't realize how strange it was that I was freezing to death in a land that was dried out from overheat.

I tucked my arms into my long-sleeves and awkwardly stood up. My legs were shaking, and I was shivering so violently that it was taking all my willpower just to put one foot in front of the other. This powerful wind was blowing in the opposite direction I was facing, forcing me to fight even harder just to maintain balance.

"MOOOMMYYY?!" I screamed.

Nothing but the wind screamed back.

"DADDYYYY!? ...KOBEEE?! ...REEEEEIII?!

Still nothing.

Just then, the wind magically changed directions, and started blowing even harder than before towards the left... Or was it the right? It was so strong that it swept me off my feet and hurled me across the land into a canyon wall that had to be at least 100 feet away from where I was standing. I quickly took my arms out of my long-sleeves and grabbed at a set of huge boulders stacked on the edge of the wall's cliff before I was blown to kingdom come. The god-wind pulled at me harder and harder, forcing me to cling for dear life onto the boulders, which were cutting my hands with their rocky, protruding edges.

_"What the hell IS this?!"_ I screamed in my head. _"A dream?!"_

Couldn't have been.

You would think that continuous cuts on your palms would wake one up, right?

So now I was in God knows where, not even fully awake enough to make a good decision, stranded in what felt like sub-zero weather with a flimsy long-sleeve shirt, a denim mini-skirt and low-top converses, with a possessed wind throwing me in all kinds of directions. My family was nowhere to be found, and I was clinging haphazardly by the edges of my fingers onto a boulder, and NOW, my hands were starting to bleed. This was shaping up to be a...crazy dream. One that I wanted to wake up from immediately. However, if the pain in my hands wouldn't do it, I didn't know what else I would need. I didn't want to find out either...

The wind kicked up ten-fold, and tore my grip away from the rock. It felt like I had been thrown into a speeding truck that time, when the wind changed directions again and sent me careening back into the ground. The shock kept me stationary for a while, but eventually, I turned myself on my back and sat myself up without using my hands, so as not to get dirt in my wounds. Not only had the wind's power risen, but had temperature dropped by a good amount. I didn't need a thermometer to know that.

I popped my arms into my long-sleeves again and glared up at the sky. "OKAY GOD!" I yelled angrily. "JOKE'S OVER. I'M READY TO WAKE UP NOW."

I wanted to wake back up underneath my blankets, in my warm bed at home. I wanted to see my mom come into the room and ask if I'd been having a nightmare. I wanted the sky to turn into the blue it was in before I went to sleep, and more importantly, I wanted this damned wind to stop toying with me. But the wind continued to blow, and my blood continued to freeze. Nothing changed.

_"What's...happening here...? Where is everybody?" _I wondered, confused.

That's when I remembered.

The screaming people, the pandemonium, and the strange light coming from the sky. Things...were falling out of the sky, and I had been in a tree...watching on top of a hill...I fell but...

...I never hit the ground...

...Or...Did I? I couldn't remember.

All I knew was that I had been in a dark place, where things were peaceful...like in video games when someone gets eliminated.

_...Eliminated._

My heart stopped for a hot second and I felt fear rise up from the pit of my stomach and spread throughout my whole body. Was I...dead?

Was this Hell? Heaven? Purgatory? Where was I? Where were my family members? Just what the hell happened when the sky...literally tore itself in two? Would I be stuck here forever? Was I still unconscious? Was I still dreaming...?

This broken, dry earth and its bloodshot sky...The rock formations seemed to get bigger, the Earth began to expand. Everything was moving farther away. In the midst of the expanse was just...me. I felt overwhelmed. I felt terrified. It was like living nightmare I'd had once before, in which I woke up in the middle of the arctic sea and all around me were glaciers larger than the biggest things I had ever seen...It was just an endless expanse of water...

...Endless...

...Endless...

"WHEN WILL IT END?!" I screamed into the sky.

I quickly took my arms out of my sleeves and grabbed my head, although it hurt to do so. I took a deep breath, and rattled my head a few times. Whether this was a dream or not, in a few minutes, if I didn't get out of it, I would lose it.

**BOOOOOOOOOM!**

The ground shook, and everything slowed down. The wind stopped blowing so quickly, the temperature started dropping a little slower. The dust clouds settled down ever so slightly, like the world was stopping to witness a lost child on the brink of insanity. A shadow, six times my size was cast over me. I assumed it to be a cloud, covering the sun, but the shadow was just over _me_. I slowly turned around, unsure of what to expect.

It wasn't anything good...just my luck.

The shadow of the humongous winged beast looming over me did not do the true size of the monster any justice. It looked like a creature from a Greek legend or fantasy world: a half-dragon, half-griffin crossbreed mixed with God knows what else. Its wings, which were twice its size, were fully spread at its sides. Its beady eyes glared down and me, as if to say: _**"How DARE this puny fool disrupt my peace and enter MY territory?"**_

We stared at each other for a good while, frozen in time for a couple of seconds. Not knowing what else to think, I decided to break the ice.

"...Hi," I said stupidly with a wave of my fingers.

The monster continued to glare at me.

I gulped, feeling my eyes begin to fill with tears, and continued to play it off. "Um... I'm... s-sorry for invading your home, I uh... I'm new to the area, ehehe..."

The monster did not look convinced.

"If it's not okay—I mean, i-if it's okay with you... If you could just give me some directions, I would be more than happy to leave you alone...?"

The skull of a monster similar to the one I'd picked up earlier was lying not too far away from the winged beast's foot. Without even looking down at it, the monster put one giant talon forward, and smashed it into pieces with such coldness that I could do nothing but look at the remains of it praying: _"Dear God...please don't let it do that to my skull..."_

**"RRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHAAAAA!"**

Its blood-curdling cry punctured the sound barrier, making me wobble uncontrollably and hastily cover my ears. It took a giant-sized step in my direction, which was my cue to get the hell out of there! I ducked between its legs and took of in a feet-don't-fail-me-now mad dash, although I didn't know where to go, and the wind was not cooperating with me.

I ran and bounced at the same time, because every time the monster put its foot down there was a mini-earthquake. I took a glance behind me, to see it gaining on me more and more by the second. Its steps were larger, and it got more distance in one step than I did in four. I was totally confused, running in uncharted territory, and apparently was also running directly into a dust storm. The monster took one final leap, sailed over my head, and landed three feet in front of me with a startling, crushing "**BOOM"**. I toppled over from the force, and fell on my back. Just like the salty girls I'd watched in movies, I found myself in their exact situation: backs against the wall, trying to crawl away from the evil overhead, and only a few seconds away from pissing our pants...

The mighty creature raised its talon one last time to crush my bones into dust, and I felt myself on the verge of crying, peeing, and screaming all at the same time, when I saw it.

Bullets—nine of them to be precise. They cut through the dust and lodged themselves in the monster's stomach. The demon let out a cry and prepared to stomp down on me, but suddenly I felt a hand roughly snatch up the back of my shirt, and fling me into the air-all in a blur. When I landed, I was suddenly safe, riding on a...

_...motorcycle...?_

The driver was wearing a beige colored trench-coat and a black bandana. Their hair was a pale blond color, and it was very obvious that this mystery driver was "he". He turned around then, and I saw his face for a hot second.

"Hi there!" he said in a voice that had a hint of overconfidence in it. I stared at him, wondering what was happening. I know I looked confused, because he said: "Don't worry; we're the good-guys!" and turned back to face the road.

"_We?_" I thought.

The blond man skidded into a hard turn on his motorcycle and sped of towards the monster. I then saw a pink-haired woman wearing a complicated set of clothes, that I could describe at best as some kind of uniform. She worse a beige-sleeveless overcoat that was belted together just beneath her chest, a sleeveless , vermilion red, cropped turtleneck, a short pine-green khaki mini-skirt, layered-looking boots with metal clasps, and very intricate details embellishing her costume, including a leg pouch that was belted onto her and a single pauldron with two yellow stripes. She was going head to head with the giant demon, slashing and shooting at it at the same time with the strange sword/gun contraption she was using.

"LIGHTNING!" the blond man yelled, driving past her. The pink-haired woman turned around and nodded at him. Then, she took a giant hop back and leaped into the air. The blond man drove underneath her at precisely the right moment, and she landed with her feet on the hood of the motorcycle. She took a quick glance at me—so quick that I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination or not—before looking back at the monster, which was screaming and throwing a fit.

"Hang on!" the blond said, kicking his motorcycle into high-speed. The woman crouched down, her sword in hand, as if ready to pounce. He began to circle the monster, a massive dust cloud forming in the process. The monster was screaming, trying to follow the vehicle's movements with its head which proved futile. Once the dust cloud was high enough, he skidded outside of the circle and drove away from the monster, made another hard turn, and shot back towards the dust cloud. I was thinking he was a reckless driver, but at the same time I was glad that I hadn't ended up like the skull.

"NOW!" Lightning yelled. On her command, the blond guy stomped down on the acceleration, now going so fast that he tore through the demon wind which was blowing in the exact opposite direction. He shot through the dust cloud, and Lightning jumped off of the motorcycle. With her sword in hand, she flew all the way to the top of the monster, and came down on it, lodging her sword in the creature's back. It let out a final cry before falling slowly to ground, dead at last. She dislodged her sword from the creature, and placed it back in the sheath that was attached to her skirt.

"ALRIIIGHT!" the blond man cheered, driving back towards her with the motorcycle. She jumped onto it as it passed and landed behind me. She was giving me a hard, unfriendly look, but all I could think was: _"You. Are. Awesome."_

"We're heading back to the town, Snow," Lightning said. "He's not here."

"Got it." The blond man answered, speeding away from the scene.

We rode through "The Marsland" (as I came to call it) in silence for what seemed like hours. As I sat there all that time, watching the unchanging scenery, I realized that I really wouldn't have made it out of this place if these two hadn't shown up. It looked like the same desert it had been 20 miles ago. _"There IS a God!"_ I'd been thinking the whole time.

I wasn't facing her, but that woman Lightning had just let off this strange feeling that made me feel like she was glaring at me, even if she wasn't. And that Snow guy? He was odd in his own way. Odd in the sense that I thought I'd met him before, or that he reminded me of somebody. I was hardly complaining though.

Eventually, the dry, cracked earth started to disappear. In its place, patches of green grass were popping up, as well as a few tiny streams of water ending only a couple of feet away from where they began. Soon however, all traces of the Marsland were completely gone. The place was starting to look like God's Green Earth all over again. It brought me peace, making me believe that this dream was reaching a turning point for the better.

_But little did I know, that I hadn't even scratched the surface._

* * *

_**And so ends the first chapter of "White Snow Dimensia." It's not amazing I know, but I didn't really know where to begin with this story at first. Please tell me what you think. Thank you.**_

* * *

*****Anyone who can tell me why they think the story's title is "White Snow Dimensia" will get a cookie. C=*****

**R&R!**

**Thank you for reading!**

**-Kamikimmy13**


	3. Chapter 2 - Winter, Snow and Lightning

_****6/27/13 Edit: This chapter has been edited. No major storyline plot points were changed.**_

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_**CHAPTER 2**_

* * *

The Marsland disappeared soon after that.

I was starting to drift into drowsiness. Truthfully, ever since I'd remembered the incident with the sky, my head had been pulsating non-stop. Plus, my hands were still cut up and I'd gotten new bruises and wounds on my elbows and knees from my ordeal with the wind and that creature. All I wanted to do was to take a nap...maybe then I would wake up from this dream...or whatever it was shaping up to be.

The red sky faded back into its original color: blue. The kind of blue that you see after the sunset when the sun has gone down. Stars were already beginning to appear. And instead of just one evening star, there were three; one blue, one red, and one yellow. They were all clumped together to form a kind of triangle. For some reason, they brought on nostalgia. And while I was reminiscing and staring at the stars, I noticed that there was no rift in this sky.

"Alright, we're here," Snow said, slowing his motorcycle down to a halt just outside of a huge iron gate with two guards posted at both sides. The gates closed off what looked like some kind of walled city. The walls were made of what looked like brick and hardened sand. There were larger patches of grass surrounding the fortress, with puffy-looking flowers and pink dandelions growing within them. Some ivy vines were draped over the city walls, and a few had odd-looking glass ornaments in them. Through the spaces in the gate, I could see people walking about. It looked like a scene from Aladdin, except this wasn't the Middle East at all. There were some stalls set up lining the streets and children running around playing tag. The city was lively and happily inhabited. On this side though, it just looked like the place was an isolated haven in an ocean of sand.

Lightning got off the motorcycle and approached the guards. I felt relived as I climbed off, thankful that she wasn't behind me anymore. Snow hopped off the motorcycle last.

"Thanks, guys!" he said, giving it a pat on the handle bars. The motorcycle unfolded itself—

_—it unfolded itself—_

And became two human-looking ladies. One of them was dark blue, the half of the motorcycle with handlebars, the other was white, and she was the back part of the motorcycle. They winked and waved a "goodbye" at Snow, then disappeared. Something on Snow's arm glowed when they did this, and when they were gone he patted that area. He looked at me and grinned, then followed Lightning to where she was talking to the guards. If I wasn't scared of waking up in the Marsland again, I would have fainted. I'd had quite enough of this dream already.

"What the heck was THAT?!" I shrieked. "What's going ON with the world?!" Not wanting to be left behind, I cautiously approached the other two at the gate.

"Don't worry!" Snow said. "They won't bite."

I shot a quick glance at Overconfidence Man.

The gate to the city opened up, and the guards stepped to the side to make way for Lightning. Snow and I followed.

As I walked, I couldn't help but notice people staring at us, specifically me. Some of the merchants stopped mid-sentence to look me over. Some of the children who were playing tag stopped and shyly took a few steps back until I passed. Women walking by with baskets in their hands shot me a mix of dirty and questioning looks. I couldn't say I blamed them, I probably looked like a vagabond with my cuts and bruises, and I was sure that my clothes were all dirty. I knew I was quite a site, but that doesn't mean I liked it.  
Lightning continued to walk straight ahead. Her head never turned, her eyes never wandered. Snow looked at some of the people as well and gave them friendly nods. Me? I hugged my arms and walked with my head down, trying to attract as little attention as possible, although my attempts were inevitably futile.

Snow turned around then when he noticed that life was starting to pause for the townspeople. He stopped walking and waited for me to catch up before he started again.

"Hey, don't worry; we got our fair-share of staring too. They'll get over it eventually," he assured me. I wasn't convinced however.  
"Thanks..." I mumbled. There was a few seconds of silence before Snow's voice cut into it again.

"I'm Snow by the way," he said, attempting to start a friendly conversation with an obvious statement. "That one over there is Lightning. She's a little tough, but she's alright."

"I'm Winter," I said quietly.

"Really? Hey! That's kinda funny! Snow, Winter! Ha! Funny, huh?" he joked, tapping me lightly on the shoulder.

"Haha..." I laughed stupidly.

"Ha!"

There was more tangible silence between us two for a good 30 seconds.

"...So, Winter...this is where you're from...right?" he finally said.

"I've never seen this place a day in my life," I replied.

Snow looked at me, confused. "Then how'd you end up so far in the desert?" He asked.

"I just...woke up there," I said.

"No waaay!"

I nodded.

"...That explains a lot. The natives here know not to travel too far into the desert without a weapon or a potion or something. There are monsters crawling all over that place. You're really lucky you only ran into one."

"...Potion? Weapon?" I repeated. "Well, even if I had one, I wouldn't know how to use one. Where I'm from, you don't use those kinds of things 'cause there aren't any demon turkeys that pop out of nowhere with a thirst for blood." I let out a frustrated sigh.

"...Where did you say you were from?"

"Shibuya."

Snow scratched his head. "Huh. I've never heard of that place before."

"Of course you haven't," I said. "You're just a figure of my imagination, so I wouldn't expect you to know about Shibuya."

"...Wait...what? A figure of your imagination?!"

"Well, yeah." I said simply. "This is all just a dream. I don't know why I haven't woken up yet, I mean, it looks all so real! But..."

Snow stared at me now, completely lost.

I didn't know why I had to explain how dreams work to someone in my dream. But now that I was thinking about it, there could be no other logical explanation. In real life, the sky doesn't turn the color of blood, deserts aren't three degrees Fahrenheit, there's no such thing as a crossbreed of griffin and dragon, and transformers DO NOT exist. They just... don't.

The three of us continued walking until Lightning stopped at a little brick house on a street corner with a sign posted in front of it. I couldn't read what was on it. The door was already open, so we invited ourselves in. Snow didn't say anything else to me. Probably pondering my last words.

Lightning approached a counter that was stationed next to a stairwell. It looked like any other receptionist desk, only with a gypsy theme. Cubbies were behind the desk, with people's things stuffed inside. There were rugs and drapes hanging all over the ceiling, but there weren't any lights. Based on my surroundings, I deducted that we were standing in a hotel lobby.

The plus-sized, mustache man at the counter was putting sheets away when Lightning approached. When he saw her, he dropped everything and ran to the counter. "Welcome miss Lightning and company!" He smiled. "Would you like a room for you and me—I mean, you and your friends?"

I recoiled at that man's remark that he thought we didn't hear. The way Lightning's eyes were narrowed at the man, I was expecting her to take her sword out and stab him or something, However she just reached into a pouch that was attached to the top half of her costume and took out some gold coins. "I need a room for three," she said plainly. "Just one night. We leave in the morning."  
"Of course my little peach!" the man chimed.

"And if you had some clean bandage wrap, that'd be great," Snow said.

Mr. Mustache shot a death glare at Snow, who just grinned and played it off. "Of course," he growled.

My eyes drifted from the man to Snow and back, expecting for one or the other to say something rude. Snow didn't seem like that kind of person however, and it looked like he was scared of Mr. Mustache anyway, despite his obvious contempt for the man.

Lightning headed up the stairs, and the mustache man leaned underneath the counter. He arose with a small, wooden box of bandage wrap and pushed it across the counter to Snow. Once that deed was done, he turned on his heel and went back to organizing the laundry without another word.

"Jerk," I mumbled.

Snow nudged me and beckoned towards the staircase. "Let's get you wrapped up, kiddo," he said.

"Kay." I nodded.

* * *

"OW!" I yelped as medicine water was poured all over my hands. "My hands! THEY'RE BURNING!"

Snow tore off a piece of bandage wrap and began to patch up my hands. The legs and arms were already done. The medicine water hadn't hurt so much with those wounds, so I wasn't expecting it to sting so badly when it reached the hands. I ended up receiving a major shock to my pain receptors!

"Calm down, you're not gonna die. This stuff is really sensitive to the skin on places like your hands, face, and the bottom of your feet. Don't know why but..." Snow said, tying the knot on the bandage and ripping another piece of wrap for the next hand. "It gets the job done!"

I sucked in my breath and nodded. "Okay..."

Lightning had left a bit earlier to go look for something called "megalixir". I wasn't sure what time it was, maybe around...8:00 at night? Stars were starting to flood the sky and I saw them from the tiny cut-out windows in the room. A gentle breeze blew through, and the temperature had risen. Whatever this was, it was incredibly real.

"...So, you said you're not from around here, right?" Snow asked once the second bandage was secured. He sat down on the embellished rug lying at the side of the cot I was sitting on.

"Mhm." I nodded.

"...Hm...I don't wanna snoop but, where are your parents? —Do you...have any?"

"Mhm," I said. "My mom, dad and two younger brothers."

"Where are they? Were they with you in the desert?"

"I...don't know what happened. I just...woke up in the desert, and everyone was gone. I don't really remember all that well what I was doing before that."

Snow stood up. "What did your parents looks like? Maybe someone around here can recognize-"

"Snow."

He and I turned our heads at the same time to see Lightning standing in the door frame. She beckoned him with her head into the hallway. "There's something I need to show you."

"Alright, I'm coming." Snow nodded at me, then excused himself from the room. Lightning took one last glance at me before she disappeared from the door frame and followed Snow down the hall. I stared at the spot she'd been in.

_...What now?_ I thought.

Outside, the sun had already set. The sky was enveloped in a shade of ebony, dotted with stars. Outside in the city streets, the hustle had died down, and everyone was settling in at home. From the cutout window, I could see the light from people's lanterns flickering off of their windowsills. This long and stressful day was ending, to make way for the challenges of the new one. It was time to sleep.  
I slid my converses off my feet and picked up the flimsy, tattered bed-sheet that the receptionist had presented me with, slowly slipping underneath it. I blew out the candle that was burning on the side table by the headboard. There was no pillow, so I rested my head on my arm, and tried to make myself as comfortable as possible without agitating my wounds; however I wasn't comfortable at all. The darkness was unsettling...and I couldn't stop being apprehensive. I found myself worrying about robbers, killers, fires, and a myriad of other things, until I eventually worried myself to sleep.

* * *

**"CRASH!"**

My eyes shot open and I jolted out of bed, my head snapping left and right throughout the dark room. My door was closed and the room was untouched, but my ears picked up sounds coming from the hallway. There were muffled sounds of a woman throwing a fit, and a man trying to calm her down.

It was strictly against my nature to venture into darkness just to do some snooping, and although I wanted to know what the commotion was about, I didn't want to leave my bed and risk running into trouble, but...

"Are you kidding me, Snow?!"

"Light, just calm down-"

"Don't you call me that!"

I blinked, and threw the covers off, swiftly crossing the room and exiting into the hallway. All the way at the end, a lantern light coming from the last room on the left flickered off the wall.

It was so...

...dark...

But I reminded myself that "Jesus resides even in the darkness", signed a quick cross symbol, and began tiptoeing down the hallway.  
But It was really...

...really...

...dark. In. Here.

The floorboards creaked as I walked, so much that I was starting to wish they were alive so I could kick them and tell them to shut up. The place was in dire need of a renovation, that was for sure. However, it didn't look like anyone was disturbed by the noise, and I don't think either Lighting nor Snow could even hear it. I wasn't too far away from the door when their conversation came into earshot.  
"Take her with us?! We can't take her with us! What are you? Stupid?" Lightning was shouting. I ducked down and crept closer to the room, making as little noise as possible. When I'd finally reached it, I peeked into the room via the crack in the door. I wasn't naive; the "her" was obviously me. In the middle of the room Lightning was standing with her hands on her hips, an expression of unpleasant disbelief etched into her face. Snow was off towards the side of the room with an equally stubborn expression, and not too far from Lightning's feet laid pieces of glass.

_"Good god!"_ I mumbled, just below a whisper. _"What did he say to her?!"_

"Look Light, she's just a kid and she lost her family-"

"That's not my problem, Snow."

"Just hear me out, okay?! Listen, I was talking to her earlier and she told me that she 'wasn't from around here.' She said she'd never seen this place before, and when I asked her how she got into the desert she said she just woke up there-"  
Lightning followed Snow's movements with narrowed eyes.

"-But there's only one way into the Drylands and that's through this city! But according to her, she didn't get in through the city! So how did she get here and what happened to her family?! People don't just WAKE UP in the middle of the desert! That aside, she said I was a 'figment of her imagination'...I mean, who says that?!"

"Maybe she lost her memory. Maybe an Invalet killed her family. I don't KNOW what happened, Snow. But that's not my problem. This is the kind of world we live in, and she's just gonna have to deal with it like the rest of us."

Lightning crossed her arms and turned her back on Snow, who stepped forward.

"Come on Light, have a heart. We can't just leave her here!"

"Listen here, Villiers," Lightning hissed angrily, crossing the room to grab the man by his shirt collar. "Do I need to remind you what we we're even doing in the desert?"

Snow was silent.

"We are looking for the bastard that tore our world apart, killed off our friends, and turned YOUR wife and MY sister into a goddamn demon. Do I need to _remind you_ of that?"

"No…" Snow mumbled.

"What did you say?"

"I said NO!" he yelled.

"Good." Lightning released his collar and walked back to the other side of the room. "We're on a mission. We pick up a delusional little kid in the desert who tells you her sob story and you're ready to abandon everything we've worked for."

"I wasn't abandoning anything!" the blond objected.

"It's PATHETIC! She had no weapons on her—she doesn't know how to fight, for God's sake, Snow! The girl doesn't know what a potion is! …You're either with me or not, but I don't have time to be babysitting. If I have to, I'll avenge Serah and the others by myself."

"Lightning, you KNOW you can't take on that guy by yourself."

"Your choice."

She started walking towards the door just then. I panicked, and looked left and right for an escape. I was considering booking it down the hall, but that would've made things look way too suspicious. My next option was to try a random door, hope to God that it was unlocked, and dive in. Just as I was getting ready to dash for the one across from the room, Lightning opened the door fully, and I jumped to my feet. She and I stared at each other for a second before she shook her head and walked past me, back down the hall.

_"Shit,"_ I thought. _"Busted."_

"Been standing there a while?" Snow asked from his new spot in the center of the room. I winced, and whirled around.

"N-no way! I...You...um. There was a crash..." I muttered stupidly.

Snow's eyes drifted to the smashed glass strewn all over the carpet, and grinned at me. "Aw, its nothing," he said. "She's just having one of her moments."

_"Yeah right,"_ I thought.

There was awkward silence in the room then.

"...I'll...be going now..." I said quietly. "Sorry for...this."

"...G'night kiddo," Snow said.

"Night," I replied, taking my leave down the hallway.

I went back to my room unable to sleep. Just the thought of those two leaving me here, for some reason it...it made me sad. They would've been just as well to just leave me in the desert. Just what was I supposed to do in this place?! Rot in the inn? While I stared up at the ceiling that night, I pondered these things and let out an exhausted sigh. I needed to go home—wherever it was—right now.

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**"Will Lightning and Snow abandon Winter to fend for herself in this New City? Find out in the next chapter of ****_"White Snow Dimensia!"_**

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**What did you guys think? BTW, the city Winter is in has no relevance to any of the FF games involved in this crossover. There was no desert in FF-13, that I remember. I didn't play ff7 so idk if there's a desert there, and the place isn't in Bikanel. I was literally thinking of Aladdin when I pictured this city, but it's really hard to describe surroundings. You never feel like you've given a good enough visual, but too much information is never a good thing.**

**R&R. Thank you for reading C=**

**-Kamikimmy13**


	4. Chapter 3 - The PSICOM Army

**Thank you everyone for reading chapter 3!**

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***Chapter Three**

When I woke up the next morning, the sun was already high in the sky. It was hot-95 degrees at least, and the city's hustle and bustle from the previous day had returned. I couldn't believe it...I'd woken up in the same room I'd gone to sleep in, and not my own bedroom...? Was it even possible to have a full night's sleep inside of a dream?! I'd even had a dream within a dream! Everything was just too real! But it couldn't be!

I remembered the sound of glass breaking at that moment, and quickly shuffled out of bed. My wounds were feeling better at least-that medicine water was really something!

I thumped down the hallway in my bare feet until I reached Snow's room. The door was closed, and when I put my ear to it, I didn't hear anything.

_"Maybe he's asleep. I don't want to bother him if he is..."_ I thought.

Slowly however, I reached for the doorknob and tapped lightly on the door, to which there was no response. I tapped again, louder this time, and waited for something. When no one answered, I took the liberty of inviting myself in.

The glass mess from last night had been cleaned up, and the rug had been replaced with a cheaper, less attractive one. The cot in the corner was neatly done, the sheets folded with the pillow on top for the next customer. There was nobody here.

My heart sank.

I shut the door and went downstairs into the lobby. The door to the Inn was open now and the oversized mustache man was once again organizing boxes. When he saw me, he flashed me a big, toothy, cringe-worthy grin.

"Good morning, miss!" He said happily.

"...Hello...?" I replied awkwardly.

"Your friends already left the inn early this morning. I asked them about you but they didn't answer. Hm, I thought it strange."

I sucked in some air. "Good to know."

"Anyway," Mr. Mustache continued. "They said they wouldn't be coming back, but also that you had nowhere to go. Your parents are missing, yes?"

"Yeah."

"Well! Miss...um...miss..."

"Winter."

"Winter? That's a weird name. Anyway, miss Winter, today is your lucky day! After a brief conversation with miss Lightning and her pathetic-I mean, her blond friend, we've made arrangements for you to stay here. But that is IF, and ONLY IF, you agree to work here full time!"

I stared blankly at the man. He kept that ridiculous grin on his face and was expecting me to return his enthusiasm. When I didn't, his face fell.

"Hey, you should be happy! I'm not kicking you out of the inn, and this way if your true parents come by and need somewhere to stay, they'll find you and all will be well! THAT'S why you should be happy!"

"I'm thrilled." I said flatly. "I also don't have a choice do I?"

"Well, you could chose not to work here, and then you would be forced to sleep outside and beg for food with the _rest_ of the lower society."

That DID sound convincing.

"Okay." I said. "I'll work here...but um, on the subject of money..."

"Money? What's that?"

I blinked. "The currency? What you use to pay for stuff?"

"You mean gil?"

"Gil?"

"Of course! You don't know what gil is? Just where are you from anyway? Gil is the currency of the entire world!"

"Oh." I said. "I didn't know."

"What are they teaching you kids in school, eh?"

I sighed.

"Anyway, you shouldn't worry about pay. Your reward is having a place to sleep every night yes? I'm so generous, yes yes so generous." He sang. What could I do but watch his antics with a blase attitude?

"In the meantime you have GOT to take a shower. Your hair looks a mess, your clothes look like you lost a fight with a Coeurl, and you're covered from head to toe in Dryland mud. Do yourself a favor miss, er, Winter. Go take a towel from one of the storage boxes in the back, and walk down this street until you get to the bath house."

_"RUDE!"_ I thought in my head, narrowing my eyes at Mr. Mustache.

"Thank you so much, _kind sir_!" I said with forced enthusiasm "There you go! That's the spirit!" He cheered. "and for future reference, my name is Soll."

"Yeah yeah." I muttered, marching towards the storage room.

* * *

I wandered around the city looking for the bath house for 30 minutes. Apparently, I'd forgotten that I didn't know how to read any of the signs in this world. I was too shy to ask for directions from the people, which ate into an extra 15 minutes. I didn't find the bath house until one very daft girl made a comment on my hair and said: "Why don't you go to the bath house, it's right over there!" It took all the strength I had left to not drop everything and strangle her.

The bathing pools were so huge, and of course, they were all being shared by women. I'd been used to public bath houses from being raised in Japan, but being in this particular one felt...strange. I wanted to crawl into the furthermost corner of the room and bathe there in silence. And that's precisely what I did.

The room was covered in light mist, so I quickly took off my clothes and slipped into the soothing, warm water. It revitalized my soul and made me relax.

I stayed in for a long time. Just as I was getting ready to come out, I realized something very important: I didn't have a change of clothes. Mine were dirty, ripped, and unpleasant to be in. I didn't want to change back into them after getting so clean...

"Eff my LIIIFE." I slapped the water and let out a groan.

"Hey! Watch yourself!"

A girl in a towel had been walking by with two other girls. My splashing had soaked all three of them, and they weren't happy.

"You soaked my towel! And I'm all out of gil..." One girl whined.

"You shouldn't come to the bath house if you're going to act like a child!" Another one whined.

I glared. "Sorry for splashing you, but don't talk to me like you know who I am!" I pouted and turned my head. "Why are you in the back of the bath house anyway?"

"We could ask you the same thing!" The first girl replied.

"And for your _in-for-ma-tion_," The second girl added. "We left our clothes back here and came to get them, but you _totally_ soaked them all!"

I looked behind me at the drenched attire resting on the floor and mentally facepalmed.

"She didn't soak them all," The last girl said kneeling over the clothes. "Our didn't get soaked, just yours, Ans."

The first girl's eyes grew wide with anger. "I JUST BOUGHT THOSE!" She screamed, turning everyone's heads towards the back. Her friends shushed her, and I sank further down into the water. "Well, no matter." She said, flipping her wavy blue hair. "I'm just gonna have to take yours."

_"Excuse me?_" I asked in disbelief.

"It's the RULE." She scanned the floor until she came across my raggedy clothes lying in the corner. The girl wrinkled her nose at them as she leaned down to pick them up.

"Get your claws off my clothes!" I shrieked, flinching towards the girl.

"IT'S. THE. RULE." She said stubbornly. "Your clothes are a mess, and they look like something I dug out of the garbage this morning. Trash. But at least its _dry_ trash."

"You could probably sell them for a couple of gil." Another girl said. I sat in the midst of this, too afraid to jump out of the pool because of my nakedness that I'd be exposing.

"You have no right to take my clothes!" I objected.

"How many times do I have to tell you that its. The. RULE? You're not from around here are you?" Blue-hair scoffed.

I sank further into the pool. With that, the three girls picked up their clothes and strutted out of the bath-house, leaving the drenched clothes for me to look at.

This was turning out to be quite a dream.

...So far...I had been nearly killed by a monster the day before, abandoned by the people that rescued me, and NOW, I'd just had the pleasure of having my clothes stolen. Rule? My ass.

I sighed and stepped shyly of of the pool. Everyone's backs were to me now, so no one saw me leave. I picked up the towel that had been next to my old clothes and dried my hair before wrapping the soaking towel around my torso. Then I picked up the girl's abandoned clothes and held them out in front of me. It was an exotic costume made up of a long, slit skirt of some kind with a sash attached, skin-tight black shorts and a black cut-off shirt. Dressing like this would definitely make me look like a native of this city, but I didn't like the idea of wearing a stranger's clothes. Defeated, I folded the clothes up and picked up my converses that she conveniently forgot. I ended up leaving the bath house wearing this girl's native clothes, converses, and the few jewelry I'd come here with-all soaked.

_"At least I'm clean."_ I thought as I left, dropping some em..._gil_ at the entrance desk. This place was weird. It's customs concerning the bath houses were weird. It's choice in currency name was weird. However, this was all I had for now. I didn't have anywhere else to go, and no other goals except to see my family again. Soll was right to some extent, maybe they would turn up eventually? But, if this was a dream, why couldn't I just make them appear right now? Why couldn't I just close my eyes and be back home?

Although I'd had the hunch ever since I woke up this morning, I was now starting to consider that this was not a dream.

After I got back to the inn, Soll had an episode over my new outfit. "I had enough money for THOSE? Nice clothes sure are cheap these days! Maybe I should go out and buy myself something new!" He'd exclaimed. I remained impassive as I sat on the wooden bench in the lobby, running my fingers through my hair. "They look so much nicer than those rags you had on earlier," Soll continued.

"Yes, yes indeed." I shot him a glare for the second time that morning. _"Is EVERYONE in this city a jerk?!_" I fumed.

"Anyway, since this is your first day of work, I should probably start you off with something easy." Soll pulled a woven basket of papers from out of a particularly large cubby and began to sort through them. "I've got TONS of errands to run. I've never had an assistant here before, but boy am I happy! Now that YOU'RE here, I can make _you_ do all the hard stuff, for absolutely NO pay! Why didn't I get one earlier?!" He shrieked happily, tossing letters into the air.

"Because you would have to _pay_ a _hired_ assistant." I reminded him, putting emphasis on the "hired" part of the statement.

"Details, details." He mumbled.

Finally he pulled out a single piece of paper out of the pile, and ran around the counter to slap it into my lap along with a little pouch that jingled with coins. I stop fiddling with my hair and squinted down at the paper, trying to recognize the writing. It all looked like scribbles-like the writing on the signs.

"There you go! A to-do list for you." He smiled.

"...Uh, -"

"No need to thank me for giving you fool-proof errands, just make sure you get them done!"

"But , I-"

"-Or else you're fired. Chop chop! Hurry up before the sun goes down!"

Soll yanked me off the bench and shoved me out of the door. "Hey!" I yelled, tripping over the brick door-stop. Soll kicked the brick outside and into the street, then shut the door in my face.

"HEY!" I growled.

"You can't come in until everything on that list is done!" He said from further away inside the inn.

"But , I can't READ this!"

"Excuses, escuses!"

"It's not an excuse! Can you at least tell me what the first one says?!"

Silence. He was gone.

I glared at the door, kicked it, and continued down the street. I stared at the paper trying to make sense of the gibberish, but it was hopeless. It was like asking a kindergardener to read _The Iliad_.

_"I need to ask somebody to translate."_ I thought, watching the crowds pass me by. Not too far away from me, a lady standing on a street corner with a basket of flowers cradled in one arm was beckoning people to come to her flower stand. She looked sweet and nice, so I decided to try asking her for help. It went against my reclusive nature, but this situation was dire.

When I approached her, she smiled warmly at me. Come to think of it, it had been one of the most genuine smiles I'd gotten all day. "Hello young miss!" She chimed. "Would you like a flower for someone special?"

I grinned nervously. "Uh...uhm no...that's not why I'm here..." I stammered. The girl's face fell, and she looked as though she were about to cry. Overwhelmed with guilt, I sighed and pulled open the coin pouch. "How much..." I mumbled.

"It's only five gil per flower, but we're having a special on bouquets today." One bouquet arranged with twelve flowers of your choice for only 7 gil!"

"I'll take a bouquet, but you have to help me out first, please." I begged.

The girl nodded at me enthusiastically. "Yes, how can I help you?"

I held the to-do list up to her. "Do you know what this says?"

She squinted at the paper for a long while. "I'm sorry, I've been travelling around so much that I hardly even remember how to read this. But it looks like the first one says-"

**_FWOOOOOO~_**

A strong wind conveniently blew in just then. It blew some of the girl's flowers out of her basket and sent my skirt flying heavenward!

"KYAAAAH!" I screamed, forcing my skirt down and releasing the to-do list.

I gasped and grabbed for it as it flew down the street and into the crowd. "NOOOOOOO! "I'M RUINED! I'M RUINED!" I cried as I dashed down the street. "Hey!" The flower girl yelled after me. "What about your bouquet?!"

"Put it on layaway!" I yelled back.

I shoved past people on my mission to recover the paper. I got more stares and rude remarks than usual of course, but I tried to ignore them as best as I could. The paper floated until it landed on the top of a food stall much farther down the main street and got caught between the wooden planks that made up its sun-visor. _"DAMMIT!"_ I fumed. "Just my luck, huh?!"

"Excuse me sir," I beckoned the shop vendor once his last customer had gone. He was a sorry looking middle-aged man with a shaggy beard and a look in his eyes that said: "I hate all life." When I approached him, he glanced at me once before turning his attention back to his grimy, curled fingernails.

"What." He demanded.

I raised an eyebrow at him before dismissing it. "Can I climb your stall to get a very important paper that's on your roof?"

"If anything breaks, you're gonna pay me twice the amount." He grumbled.

"Thanks." Moving the wares on the front counter to the side to make room for my feet, I hoisted myself up onto the counter and tried to feel around for the list. Passers by were staring of course, and the children playing in the street had stopped to gaze upon my exploits with awe.

"Look at her!" One little boy said. "I wanna do that too!"

"She looks cool!" A little girl said. "I wanna be like her."

"The youth of today." And old woman scoffed as she walked by. I stifled a giggle and shook my head in amusement.

Today was definitely an unlucky day and I'd gotten a rough start, but if this was supposed to be my new life-or dream or whatever, I would just have to adjust. I could have still been in the desert right now duking it out with the cold and wind, but instead, two kind-well, one kind and one not-so-kind pair of people had brought me here. I would have to deal with things here until I could eventually move on...-

-Suddenly, there was screaming.

"AAAAAAAAAHHH! THEY'RE HERE! YOUR CHILDREN! YOUR CHILDREN!"

People began to become stricken with mob mentality and ran rampant throughout the streets, snatching up their kids, hiding their wares behind stalls and grabbing their shopping.

"Get down child!" The grumpy old man demanded, tugging at my leg. I wasn't sure what was happening, but I did as I was told. My heart was already beating at an accelerated pace.

"Wh-what's happening here, why is everyone acting this way?!" I shrieked.

"They're here..." He said, his voice shaking, terror in his eyes.

"...Who is 'They'...?" I asked, secretly not wanting to know.

"It's the PSICOM soldiers." He said. "You don't know?!"

"No sir, I'm not from here!" My voice cracked.

"Go home, child. Lock your doors, and don't come out. You're new here so you don't know that they do to younguns like you, but you don't want to find out."

I nodded and wasted no time in dashing in the opposite direction, but ended up coming to a screeching halt when I looked in the sky and saw the most gargantuan, yet amazing air-craft that my eyes had ever seen. It hovered above for a little while before landing in the midst of the city, where people were still scattering and trying to get out of its way, or running for cover. With all this commotion, I didn't know which way to go. It was like every time I turned around the street had changed.

_"...That house wasn't there before...or was it?" _

_"...That same stall was just over there right?" _

_"...Which way is South?! Where am I going?!"_

I felt a hand on my arm, and then I felt myself get yanked to the right through the crowd. When I looked up at the person who'd grabbed me, I recognized the girl from the bath house, the one who took my clothes. She wasn't wearing them now however, she'd changed into native clothes, although I could tell it was her by the dark blue hair. What had that girl said her name was? Anju? Angel? Sara?

"What are you doing?!" I shrieked, confused.

"Don't let them see you!" She yelled back.

We ran down the main street, away from the aircraft and into the house of a woman who was beckoning the blue-haired girl and I with her hand, as terrified as the rest of the people were. The second we stepped foot into the house, the woman slammed the door and the blue-haired girl directed me into a corner of what looked like the living room, near a window, sandwiched between the wall and a bookshelf. Towards the back of the room were two younger children-twin boys-who were cowering in a corner underneath a quilt. The woman, who I was now presuming to be the girl's mother, took a blanket from a secret hatch in the floor and threw it to us. Blue-hair caught it and held onto it.

"...I bet you're wondering why I saved you?" She panted.

"I...am wondering just what the hell is going on here?!"

"...You really must not be from around here. Its PSICOM. Every few months they come to our city to collect our city's dues to the government, but for some reason whenever they come, we always owe them some kind of debt. In order to pay off that debt, the soldiers take the children and young people-like you and me. Nobody that they take ever comes back."

I blinked.

"Everyone in this city is like family. During times of trouble we cling together because we're all we have. We depend on each other. That's why strangers hide children in their houses on days like this, and that's why I'm doing this even though I don't know you. You can thank me later...and by the way, my name is Ansei." She finished.

"...Winter." I replied.

She grinned and nodded.

Slowly, both of us raised our heads to the open window to get a glimpse of what was happening outside. Ansei's mother warned us to keep our heads down lower.

The once beautiful, clear sky had become an unsettling shade of gray. The streets were nearly deserted aside from the few people that had found themselves with nowhere to run to. That's when I saw, coming from the Southern end of the street, an army of armed soldiers, each with some kind of machine gun in their hands. Their faces were covered with a blue visor that was a part of their one-piece, white and blue uniforms. The people standing outside were petrified... unable to move, unable to speak. When the soldiers walked by, the civilians collapsed onto the ground and ducked their heads. The army finally stopped marching when they reached the center of the town just a little ways away from Ansei's house, and stood at attention. From the center of these soldiers, a single man walked out of their crowd, and the soldiers parted to make way for him.

Even from my place in the house I could see that he was a dastardly man. He was wearing a black trenchcoat, military boots, and skinny, black leather pants with buckles and belts embellishing almost every part of his outfit. He had a headpiece on his left ear, and his dirty-blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail. There was a scar across the bridge of his nose and between his eyes, which were both hazel-blue. He walked with his chin up as though he were someone important, and with an amused grin on his face. I hated him instantly. And for some reason, it felt like I'd seen him before.

"Arsenic..." Ansei whispered.

I glanced at Ansei. Her eyebrows were arched, and her eyes shot daggers at this devious looking blond man standing in the middle of the street. For a minute, the world was hushed...

...And then he cleared his throat.

"Good people of this humble city of New Braska!" He began, meeting the eyes of the petrified people who were crouched down in the corners and city stoops. His voice was loud and clear. He gave a polite nod to a woman in a shawl whose arms were wrapped tightly around a little boy whose face was turned away. His grin spread into a smile. "You have absolutely nothing to fear this day."

Before I could stop her, Ansei and risen up from her spot next to me and swung the door open, dashing into the street. "ANSEI, NO!" Her mother cried, grabbing for her as she ran. I stared after Ansei with my eyes bulging and my mouth gaping, and stuck my head higher out of the window to see what was going on.

"What do you want from us?!" She screamed at this so-called Arsenic. "We've given you our city dues and you've taken your share of youth from our city already! Will you stop at NOTHING? What more do you want?!" She shrieked.

_"That girls got some serious balls._" I thought, my eyes growing even larger. Ansei's mother stood by the door frame trembling. The two boys had emerged from their corner and were kneeling on all fours underneath a table in the room they'd been in, cocking their heads so they could see out of the door.

A cocky grin spread across the dark-clad man's lips. He started walking towards Ansei. I stuck my head out just a bit further...

"Hmph. The Mayor's daughter," He said grimly. "Miss Rille Ansei."

_"The mayor's daughter?!"_ I thought, shocked at the revelation.

"What happened to _"daddy"_? Is he _hiding_? Was he not _man enough_ to come chat with me himself?"

"You keep my father out of this! I came out here on my own will, and I am perfectly capable of talking to the likes of you like an adult! Or is it _you_ who's not man enough to chat with _me_?" She hissed.

_"Oh snap!" _I clasped a hand over my mouth. _"She called him a little girl!"_

"You would do well to mind your tongue, little _brat_." Arsenic said, his cheesy smirk now gone and his voice dripping with venom. He continued to walk towards Ansei, whose feet were nailed to the ground. He stopped only several inches away from her and glared down at the girl with such hatred that I could feel it, even from these few feet away in her house. She glared back at him with just as much malice in her eyes. There was no petty tension between them, just pure hate.

"I've come to your city today to inquire about the sightings of these two individuals..." The blond man pulled two photographs out of the pocket of his trenchcoat and raised them to Ansei's face. She took the pictures from him and studied them.

"We are looking for two individuals named Lightning Farron and Snow Villiers. We received word that they would be staying at your City's Inn. Is this correct?"

My ears perked up then, recognizing the two names.

"...I recieved copies of records from the Inn mentioning these two." Ansei said quietly.

"Yes well, we checked the Inn on our way to the main square, but there was nobody there?" He phrased it as a rhetorical question, and raised an eyebrow at her for an explanation.

"...Well I don't know where they went." Ansei said, handing the pictures back to Arsenic, who took them and placed them in his pocket.

"The inn-keeper informed us that these two individuals had said that they would be departing for an undisclosed location early this morning," Arsenic continued "And that there was also a third party in their group. A young girl, about your age. The innkeeper described her as a girl of about 5 feet even, light brown skin, light colored eyes, and dark brown wavy hair worn short..."

I sank down into the corner already knowing what would come next.

"...And responds to the name "'_Winter_.'"

The boys in the room looked straight at me, and my heart stopped beating as I sank even further beneath the blanket. Ansei's eyes flashed with realization, but she continued to stand firmly in her place.

"Ring a bell?" Arsenic pressed. Ansei remained silent, and glared at the ground. The man straightened up and took a few steps back, his eyes studying her.

"So you do." He said simply. "You've seen her, yes? It is unlikely that she was aware of our coming today-"

"No one was aware." Ansei cut him off sharply.

Arsenic smirked. "Fair enough. Regardless, if you've any insight as to where this girl might be hiding..."

_Oh how I wished there was a place lower than the floor to sink into..._

"...Then it would be in your best interest to relay to us that information. Now."

I didn't hear anything coming from Ansei's mouth. She was nervous, but her eyes remained locked on the ground.

"...I don't know where she is. She left with the other two." She answered finally, her voice shaky.

"Oh really? That isn't what the innkeeper said." Arsenic replied smugly. "He told us that they left without the girl and had no intention of returning for her. He also said that he had instructed the girl to run errands for him earlier and said that she had not returned to the inn since then. So...now that we all know that's a lie, I will give you one more chance to answer me truthfully, or else."

"Or else what? Will you take more of us? Capture our mothers and our young and make them your slaves? Will you set the city on fire? Gun us all down?" She asked only semi-sarcastically. Without moving her head, she had lifted her eyes to meet them with her enemy's deadpan ones.

Arsenic let out a hearty laugh. "No, no, all though those are all excellent ideas. This time child, the only thing we will be taking is _your_ life."

"Up until now at the request of your father, you have been the only child spared from collection. However, now that your father has..._disappeared_, your life is of no meaning to me. Answer me now, or I will have my squad open fire on you." Ansei's mother gasped and reached her hand out as if to grab her child back into the house.

"What did you do to my father?!" Ansei screeched, stepping towards the commander.

"Your only concern right now should be how many seconds you have left to live." Arsenic replied. "So I will ask you again, and you have five seconds to give me an answer!" His voice was rising the more annoyed he became.

"WHERE. IS. THAT. GIRL?"

I sucked in some air as I heard no replies from Ansei. If that had been me in her shoes, I probably would have been so scared that I would have fallen to the ground in tears pouring out the entire story, from the bath house to this timely invasion. However Ansei said nothing. I felt a stab of guilt for the second time that day. _"...Is this girl that I've only met just today...really willing to face a firing squad for...me?"_

Five seconds passed.

"Ha!" Arsenic bellowed, glaring down at Ansei, who remained in her spot staring at the ground. "Are you really going to die for the sake of protecting a girl you hardly know?!"

She said nothing.

"You and your father are leading a flock full of fools. Very well then."

Arsenic stepped all the way back until he was at the front line of his army. He folded his hands behind his back and stood casually, with a serious look on his face.

"MEN!" His voice thundered throughout the petrified city and sent a shockwave through my brain-jolting me awake.

"OPEN FI-"

"STOP IT! NO!" I heard myself scream.

Involuntarily, I threw the covers off and climbed out of the window. I hit the ground running, and dashed in front of Ansei although I was shaking, and I wanted to cry. Realistically I didn't want to leave the safety of the sheets, but I also knew deep down that my inner conscience wouldn't have been able to watch her die.

Ansei looked bewildered yet relived. She put her hand on my shoulder and said: "Don't worry about me. This is my duty appointed to me by the mayor. You need to get out of here!"

"Trust me." I answered. "I don't want to be standing here any more than you do."

"Ansei!" The woman from the doorframe beckoned to her daughter with desperate arms. "Please!"

Ansei took a final look at me and nodded, then ran back to the door.

"Well well, look who we have here!"

The evil man bagan walking up to me with a deceptive grin spreading across his face again. His heavy footsteps echoed throughout the city streets and into the alleyways, giving me that same feeling one may get when listening to the ticking of a clock. _"What are we waiting for?"_ As he came closer, I felt myself stepping back. I kept walking farther and farther backwards, nearly losing my balance each time.

"You must be Winter." He said calmly. "You're trembling. Child, I assure you that there is nothing to be afraid of."

I sure as hell wasn't convinced but I forced myself to backtracking.

Arsenic reached into his back pocket once again and took out the two pictures he'd shown to Ansei. Lightning and Snow's faces were now in front of me, and by the flash of sadness I portrayed when seeing their pictures, I'd made it clear to Arsenic that I knew who they were.

He retracted the photos and shot me a grimace, cocking his head to the side. "I imagine you know these two, yes?"

I blinked. "I...met them, yes."

"Hm. Indeed." Arsenic began to pace the area in front of me. I watched him carefully, ready to haul-ass if necessary.

"Did they talk to you at all?"

"Of course they did."

"What did they say?"

"Nothing about you."

"Oh, really? Then what did they talk about?"

"Nothing important."

"Well if it was nothing important then you have nothing to hide." He glanced at me from the corner of his eye. "Do tell me then what you talked about. I would be intrigued to know."

_"What we talked about is none of YOUR buisness!"_ I wanted to yell.

Instead I said: "They asked about my past."

"Your past? why your past? What's so special about you?"

_"Jerk."_ I thought.

"Nothing." I said.

"Then why would they want to know about it?" He pressed.

"I don't know."

"Hm. Well, do you know about their past?"

I flashed back to yesterday, when I'd been eavesdropping.

_"Do I need to remind you what we were even doing in the desert?"_

_"We are looking for the bastard that tore Gran Pulse apart, killed off our friends, and turned YOUR wife and MY sister into a goddamn I need to remind you of that?"_

_"Lightning, you KNOW you can't take on that guy by yourself." _

_"I wasn't abandoning anything!"_

"No." I answered.

"Is that so..." Arsenic's voice trailed off. "Heh. Well then miss Winter, allow ME to tell you about their past. The two people that you met yesterday are criminals of the law. They're revolting against the government and destroying our property. They've been linked to a rebel union stemming from the mainland, and our intelligence sources are saying that they are on an ultimate mission to shatter the government for good."

I raised an eyebrow. "...Are you supposed to be the government?"

Now it was_ his_ turn to look confused. "You don't know your own government of PSICOM? Just where are you from, child? What are they teaching you in school?"

"I don't know you, and I don't know anything about PSICOM." I said. "But, If this is the kind of government that this world is running then it's obvious why there are rebels. Where I'm from, there ARE no rebels, because the government doesn't show up whenever they feel like it and kidnap people's children. They don't threaten to gun down kids. They don't take children's parents and make them disappear. What kind of _idiot _would just accept that?! Where I'm from, they call that tyranny. And I have no respect for that kind of a government."

Ansei gasped. Arsenic's eye's grew wide with pleasant disbelief. Once I realized what I'd said, I gasped. I'd just remembered the army of armed guards standing only 15 feet away! I'd meant what I said, I just...well, didn't mean to say it. Not now anyway.

"You're an interesting child indeed." He said. "I'm sure the Commander in Chief would love to hear what you have to say. Foolhardy talk. Tyranny? We only do what we must to protect the people."

_"So you kidnap their children?! How's THAT helping anybody?!"_ I nearly blurted out.

"I will have to ask you to come with me for questioning miss...Winter."

"I don't know anything else about those two so don't ask me! I don't want to go with you!" I stepped back.

Arsenic smirked. "I will teach you something important about your government of PSICOM miss Winter. Even if something is _phrased_ like a question, refusal is _out_ of the question."

He snapped his fingers and two guards from the front lines dashed over immediately. They grabbed my arms with their free hands.

"Hey!" I shrieked. "Stop it! That HURTS!"

The two men proceeded to drag me along towards the sea of army soldiers.

"LET GO!" I shrieked.

Ansei covered her mouth and her mother began to whimper in fear. The people on the sides of the street watched in horror as PSICOM dragged me down the street and towards the airship, while I kicked and tried to snatch myself out of their hands.

"-AARGHHH!"

Arsenic's screams made the two soldiers promptly turn around. The army ahead raised their guns, ready to fire.

"Let her go." Lightning said firmly.

* * *

**Lightning returns! **

**...Wait...Lightning returns? But...****_why_****? Find out in the next chapter of ****_"White Snow Dimensia!"_**

* * *

****I feel like a need a beta-reader. It feels like there were too many unnecessary pauses and insertion of actions. Writing is hard work! Of all of the chappies I've written so far though, this is one of my favorites. Sorry it's so much longer than the others though.**

****Noburi Park doesn't exist in Shibuya. **

****The city of New Braska has nothing to do with Nebraska the state lol. You see, I had wanted to name the desert city after Lake "Bresha" because of an earlier plot point. But I forgot the name of the lake and mistook it for Braska. It hadn't even occured to me at the time that 'Braska' is Yuna's father! (I was ****_wondering_**** where the name had come from, XDD) But it was too much trouble to go back and change, and I ended up scrapping the plot point anyway, so the name stayed. C=**

**R&R! Thank you for reading!**

**-Kamikimmy13**


	5. Chapter 4 - Before We Part

**Chapter Four**

* * *

"Don't you _DARE_!" Arsenic warned the soldiers.

Lightning had put the evil commander into a headlock, and had her sword at his neck ready to do something drastic if need be.  
The two soldiers looked at each other, unsure of what to do. My insides were about to burst with happiness, but on the outside, I was quaking with fear. So much that if those men had not been holding me up, I would have turned into jelly.

"I won't repeat myself." She said, sliding the sword closer to Arsenic's throat.

"Don't you DARE." Arsenic choked. "Get that girl on the ship!"

"But sir-" One soldier objected.

"I'm your commander dammit, you do what _I_ say! And I say get that brat on the ship RIGHT NOW!"

The guards took another step back, but looked at each other, confused. The guards at the front lines remained attentive, ready to open fire at any minute. I was still very confused.

"It's me you want, right?" Lightning arched her eyebrows. "Well then be a good commander, put the kid down, and I'll come quietly."

"Where's the other one?" Arsenic demanded.

"He was captured by PSICOM personel in the desert oasis." She answered.

I gasped. _"Captured?"_

"...You'll come without a fight?" Arsenic asked suspiciously.

"Yeah I'll come."

Arsenic pondered this for a moment, then he shot Lightning a dirty look and shouted: "MEN! STAND DOWN!"

The PSICOM guards shoved me across the street, and I tripped over myself trying to regain my balance until I fell on my butt at Ansei's doorstep, resulting in new cuts and scrapes on my arms. Ansei tried to pull me into the house, but I shook my head and pulled back. I wanted to see what would happen next. They weren't really going to take Lightning too, were they?

Lightning dropped her sword and released the Commander. The soldiers ran over to check on Arsenic, but he rejected their help."GET HER!" He barked, pointing to Lightning, whose hands were behind her head in surrender. The soldiers pointed their machine guns at her immidiately. "Alright lady, move." One growled, shoving her forward with the tip of the machine gun. She took another two steps...and stopped.

"Hey! What's the hold up lady!" The other soldier demanded, walking up to her angrily. "I said keep it mo-!"

Without warning, she quickly spun around and elbowed the soldier in the face with such force that it broke his visor and connected with his nose. He fell backwards, moaning in pain. Before the other soldier could act, Lightning had kneed him in the stomach and kicked him onto the ground, quickly grabbing that soldiers gun and dashing towards the commander who hadn't seen it coming. The soldiers prepared to open fire, when she grabbed Arsenic by his neck once more and held the machine gun next to his head with her finger on the trigger. "If I die, he's going with me!" She yelled.

Suddenly, there was ice was lining the skies, snaking itself around the roofs of buildings and around the PSICOM aircraft. Pathways of ice began forming in the sky, followed by the sound of a motorcycle engine revved up and going at full speed.

"WHHHHHHOOOOOHOOOOOOO!"

Snow's transformer-cycle sailed over the aircraft just then, and the soldiers wasted no time. They aimed their guns and opened fire, causing instant pandemonium. Ansei's mother panicked and yanked her child into the house, slamming the door behind her. The people on the street scattered once again and tried to run into an alleyway. Lightning braced herself, but she didn't move from her position. Although all the guards were shooting at Snow, he was going too fast and the bullets just kept missing him. He skidded onto the ground in front of the soldiers, and the exhaust from the motorcycle formed into a massive wall of ice that the soldiers were trying to shoot through.

I was confused, and was once again convinced that I was still by some odd compilation of events, in a dream.

"Anybody order a hero?!" Snow asked with a cheesy grin.

Lightning rolled her eyes. She then looked at me for a split second and tossed me the machine gun she was holding. I caught it, unsure of what to do, looking from her and back to the gun multiple times. She picked up her own sword from the ground then.  
"You know how to use that?" She asked me.

"No!" I squeaked, my voice cracking from fear.

"Well you better learn fast." She said, jumping onto Snow's motorcycle. Snow beckoned me with his head. "I'd hop on if I were you." He grinned. The soldiers continued shooting and the ice wall was starting to crack. I hesitated for a hot second, then snapped out of it and scampered over to the motorcycle, taking a seat behind Lightning. "HANG ON!" Snow yelled, stomping on the acceleration gear and speeding down the main street. The town went by in a blur, and we were heading full speed ahead for the Northern gate of the city.

Meanwhile, Arsenic was officially pissed to the third degree, smashing clenched fists into the ground and grinding his teeth. in the spot Lightning had thrown him in. At the high point of his fury, the ice wall broke, shattering in billions of ice crystals. From his place on the ground he roared; "AFTER THOSE TRAITORS!"

Some soldiers towards the back and middle of the lines stopped shooting and ran back into the air-vessel, returning moments later with hover-vehicles much like the motorcycle Snow had. They jumped on in pairs of two and shot forward, out of the city, hot on our trail. The remaining soldiers were ordered back into the aircraft, followed by the very angry Commander Arsenic.

"I'm gonna kill those three." He glared.

"Long time no see, huh kid?" Snow yelled to me over the wind. I squinted my eyes at him and tried to nod, but the wind was too powerful. We exited the city just then, driving up the staircase that led up to the Northern gate of the city. There was no guards posted there, and the gate was wide open so we just shot through, out of the city and into the desert.

**BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!**

Everyone ducked their heads and looked back at out pursuers: PSICOM guards all shooting at us with machine guns.

"Don't just sit there!" Lightning yelled at me. She held her sword-gun out and began shooting at the PSICOM guards while Snow swerved left and right, trying to avoid bullets. Lightning's shot connected with some of the soldiers, who flew off their hover-bikes and crashed into other soldiers. I stared down at the weapon in my hands, terrified. This predicament was one that I'd never imagined seeing myself in. Me getting shot at by military guards with a machine gun in my hands, now being expected to use it and end someone else's life...

...I didn't want to do it, even if they were shooting at me.

"What are you waiting for?!" Lightning urged, sending a menacing glare in my direction.

Her sharp voice brought me back to reality, startled. As a result, the machine gun slipped out of my hands and fell to the ground.

"Ah!" I yelled, grabbing for it.

"Perfect." Lightning mumbled.

She grabbed onto Snow and balanced herself so that she could stand on the motorcycle. Once she could stand, she leaped off of it and took an oddly colored, radiant crystal out of the pocket of her jacket. Snow looked back, surprised, but he continued to speed ahead.

"ODIN!" She yelled.  
With her sword, lightning slashed the rose-shaped crystal. A purple light appeared then. In a flurry of rose petals and lavender-colored light came a robotic-looking warrior, clad in armor, wearing a helmet and holding a dualsword. It transformed in front my very eyes into a horse, which Lightning mounted. She took the dualswords into her hands and divided them, and when she landed on the ground, she started swinging the dualswords at the numerous PSICOM soldiers. She slashed one motorcycle so hard that she sent it flying into another one, resulting in an explosion. The motorcycles behind that one swerved out of control and crashed into each other, and more explosions followed suit.

Snow swerved into a hard U-turn and shot back towards Lightning, who was pushing back the PSICOM advances and smacking the soldiers around. Upon reaching her, he switched a gear on the motorcycle, and spun around in a 360 degree spin. It created a circular ice wall that the the last of the oncoming soldiers crashed into. I nearly fell off, and had cling to the seat of the motorcycle.

The noise finally stopped, and we saw no more PSICOM in the distance. We waited...

...still no PSICOM.

Lightning dismounted her horse, which transformed back into a warrior. She snapped the dualsword back together and gave it back to...him.

"Thank you." She said. The purple light appeared again and the warrior transformer disappeared into it.

"AlRIIGHT!" Snow cheered, holding up his hand to me for a high-five. I didn't think I deserved it, but I high-fived him anyway. He turned to congratulate Lightning next, but she ignored it and sat back down on the motorcycle.

"Aw, come on Light," Snow started the engine and prepared to turn around. "Lighten up! We won!"

"If you say so." She said.

I didn't look at her while she sat, and she didn't look at me either. However, the feeling that she was glaring at me was eating away at my brain. With that, Snow turned us around and drove forward, leaving the remains of PSICOM's failed operation as a thing of the past.

* * *

Not a word was spoken during the ride, yet my mind was racked with so many questions.

_Why had they come back for me?_

_What had they done to be on this "PSICOM's" wanted list? _

_Where had they gone to after they left? Were these people really criminals? Were they dangerous people? Was I on a motorcycle with the wrong side of the law? _

_And more importantly where were we going? Where was this place? What was this world called? _

_Why hadn't I woken up yet, and where was my family?_

I tried to figure out my own solutions to these questions, and blocked out the passing scenery. Eventually, the sky grew dark and the three evening stars had risen. Nightfall was coming.

We stopped once we'd reached an oasis which I presumed the two had stopped at once before based on the fact that they didn't seem the least bit phased by its weird location. It was a small thing, and oddly placed in this desert, like at some point in this world's creation someone had just forgotten a piece of a tropical island and left here. There was a moderately sized pool of water surrounded by grass and palm trees. Growing in the vibrant green patches of grass were ruby red flowers and pink dandelions with those glass bulbs in them-like the ones I'd seen on the outside walls of the city I'd been in. One thing that caught my eye however, was this mysterious floating orb. It was stationed beside one of the palm trees closest to the water.

Lightning got off of the motorcycle and walked up to the floating ball. She pressed something on its side, and a holographic screen popped up. After a few more seconds of button pressing, a miniature, blue ball jumped out of the screen and landed in Lightning's palm. She then pressed another button, making the screen disappear, and tossed the ball onto the ground. It rolled to a stop, and a tent large enough for about 4 or 5 people to stay in appeared. Then, without looking at anyone, she disappeared inside of it.

"That's the tent you and Light are gonna stay in." Snow said as we both got off the motorcycle. It transformed into the two ladies again and disappeared into his arm.

_"Lightning and ME?_" A wave of panic fell across my face, the very thought of it making me apprehensive.

"But..." I started to object, but for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to refuse.

"Don't worry about it, she won't bite." Snow joked, patting me roughly on the back before walking over to the floating orb.

_"She doesn't have to."_ I gulped. _"Her looks can kill." _

Not knowing what else to do, I slowly inched towards the navy blue tent lying stationary at the edge of the oasis pool. There was an eerie and unfriendly aura emanating from it, making me feel like I was walking towards my own execution. Cautiously, I opened the tent flap and peeked inside. Lightning was sitting cross-legged, her back to me, with her gun-sword in front of her. I crept further into the tent and saw several mechanical spoils surrounding the area where she sat. I couldn't recognize any of them. Was she...taking her sword apart?

Curious as I was, I didn't want to ask her because she scared me. She always had on this passive "Whatever-the-hell-happens-will-happen" look on her face, and her eyes, her presence, her aura-they were all just so_ aloof_. However, she'd still saved my life, and I owed her that much at least.

I sat down in the corner nearest the tent opening and twidled my thumbs._ "I really wish I had my sketchbook or my DS or something..."_ I mentally sighed. It was now nearly pitch black outside and the temperature had dropped to a more comfortable degree. Lightning continued to shun my presence and bang mechanical parts into her sword, saying nothing, leading me to wonder: _"...Did dropping the gun piss her off THAT much?"_

I sucked in some air. "...I-"

"Hello ladies!" Snow chimed as he crawled into the tent. Lighting glanced up at him quickly before turning her attention back to the sword. I exhaled loudly and turned my attention to Snow, relieved. I watched as he wormed his way into the middle of the tent and sat down, facing me. He had the usual cheesy grin spread across his face, but for some reason, he seemed especially happy right now. Snow reached over and tapped Lightning lightly on the shoulder. She responded with an annoyed glance, and turned around to face me also. Now I knew something was up. They weren't planning on leaving me here in the desert, were they?!

"Well Winter," Snow began, his voice rattling the night-time calm and previous awkward silence. "I think we owe you an explanation."

He cleared his throat.

I blinked, confused.

"Yesterday, we left you in the New Braska Desert City and took off without saying anything. Sorry about that kiddo, we left earlier than we'd planned. It was...eh...urgent. So we told the innkeeper to-ah, well. You know the rest."

I nodded.

"Anyway, we went to Portown." Snow continued.

"What's that?" I interupted.

"Port-Oh! Right, you're not from around here. Portown is this HUGE city that stretches a little ways across the edge of the desert right next to the ocean." Snow stretched his hands out on both sides to emphasize the size of Portown. "It's a nice place. You'll see! But anyway, we've got good news for you!"

My eyes widened slightly and I sat up straighter, now at full attention.

"While we were looking for a boat to the mainland, we ran into this nice couple. Turns out they travel around the desert with a caravan! They said that while they were going through the Dryland Desert-the place where we found you by the way-that they'd lost their daughter. She fell out of the caravan during a bad sandstorm and the wind carried her away. They described a girl that sounds exactly like you!"

A genuine smile spread across my lips, and my eyes got so full excitement that I wanted to cry! I wanted to jump up and squeal in happiness, do some cartwheels, and do a praise dance all at the same time! I could only think of one thing: Mom and Dad.

"They said she had dark, dark, brown wavy-curly looking hair, light-ish brown skin, light eyes and she's about five feet even. And I thought-Hey! That sounds like Winter! And then I said: 'Light! We gotta go back!' Looks like we showed up just in time, huh kid?" Snow finished with a satisfied grin. Lightning remained impassive. I was doing sumersaults in my head, completely overjoyed and relieved.

"Did-did they tell you their names?! Did they have two little boys with them?! A baby and a ten-year-old?!" I asked eagerly.

"They mentioned something about kids..." Snow began.

"But they had to leave, so we didn't get any of that information." Lightning finished.

"Oh..." I said. Now crushed.

"But we DO know where their caravan's staying." Snow added quickly. "They're going to be in Portown for another three days to do some trading, and then they said their going to go back to New Braska to re-stock."

"Alright." I grimaced.

"From here on out it'll take us about five and a half hours to get there. We can leave first thing in the morning. But..."

Snow glanced quickly at Lightning, with narrowed eyes. He hesitated, continuing only after she gave him an approving nod. He turned his eyes back to me, with a straight face that left me slightly confused.

"once we get you to your family again, that's it. For your safety, we can't associate with you anymore."

I blinked, cocking my head sideways.

"PSICOM saw you leave with us. Sooner or later they'll be looking for you." The blond man explainee, his previously bright tone now serious. "Arsenic knows your name, what you look like, and what direction we headed in. He probably went back to his Headquarters to report progress, but once that's overwith he's coming after _you_ too. My suggestion to you is, find your family, change your identity, and stay with the caravan at all costs. For your situation, constant traveling is ideal, okay?"

I looked from Lightning to Snow, and then down at my hands. He had a point...but...

For some reason, I was feeling a little...disturbed...moreso..._heartbroken._

...Why though? These people were strangers to me. All things considering, I'd only known them for a few hours, and my presence to them was only a hindrance. They were criminals of the law with strange abilities, and they'd left me alone once before-although they _did_ save my life twice.

Regardless, I suddenly had a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Even if I did get reunited with my family again, these two...These strangers and I...

_...This would not be the last encounter fate would lead us to have._

* * *

**Finally! All of her worries are gone! Peace to her soul, Winter's parents are alive!**

**...But that's a good thing...right? **

_**...Or is it perhaps too good to be true?**_

**The awaited reunion! Stay tuned for the next chapter of ****_White Snow Dimensia!_**

* * *

****Thank you all for reading this far. How is it? Let me know.**

****Btw, for all the apprehensive readers, there is no OCxCanon in this story. **

**Thank you!**

**-Kamikimmy13**


	6. Chapter 5 - The Turning Point

**Chapter Five**

* * *

_My eyes were closed, but sunlight was pouring in, giving me the urge to open them and wake up. However, I pulled myself under the blankets and squeezed my eyes shut even tighter. It's just so warm, sleeping in the sunlight..._

_It's quiet now. I'm not asleep anymore. My dream faded away once I got the urge to open my eyes. Damn sun...It was such a good dream too...Regardless, it feels good underneath these blankets. Outside, it's below freezing. The sunlight however, combined with the thick covers makes it feel like a warm, spring day. _

_Downstairs, Kobe and Rei are fighting with each other over cereal. I hear Rei's distant baby screech as he kicks his feet from his high chair. Kobe's laughing now, yelling words of superiority at my tiny sibling who can barely talk himself. Dad's deep voice cuts into the cacaphony downstairs, and he starts to shout at Kobe. Kobe's voice has diminished into a whimper now, as he tries to explain why he believes HE should have the last of the Lucky Charms. _

_Hehe..._

_What day is it? Maybe...Saturday? It feels like a Saturday now. What time did I go to sleep last night? I was working on Social Studies homework when Erika called, and then...she hung up first, right? Yeah, defenitely a Saturday._

_"Winter! It's past noon already! Get up!" Mom's yelling from the hallway. "I wanted to take you to the mall today so you could help me pick out some new shoes. If you're not up in the next five minutes, I'm going by myself." Her footsteps are getting louder now, and soon she's at my door, her hand on the doorknob. "Winter..."_

_I smile from underneath the covers, but I still don't want to wake up._

_Hehe..._

_Yep, it's defenitely Saturday..._

"Five more minutes mommy..." I mumbled.

"Not by a longshot kid." Lightning said.

Surprised, my eyes shot open. The light hit me all at once, making me squint. I saw the silhouette of a woman who was standing near the tent flap. When my eyes finally adjusted, the figure was obviously Lightning. She had that same impassive expression on as she watched me sit up in my sleeping eyes jumped around my surroundings as I tried to remember where I was. The area where Lightning had slept last night was vacant. Outside, from what sounded like only a few feet away, the sound of a revving motorcycle engine brought everything back. I was going somewhere-about to leave these two for the second time. This time, I would give them a formal goodbye, and despite my slight bitterness over being left alone, I wanted to thank them more than anything for finding my parents, and rescuing me twice. I really did owe them my life...

"We're ready to go." Lightning said. She then turned and ducked out of the tent. "...Better not keep them waiting..." I thought, slipping out of the sleeping bag.

Within a few minutes, I'd rolled up my sleeping bag and found my little coin pouch that I didn't even remember I'd had with me. Once I'd stepped outside, the first thing I saw was Snow standing by his transformer, checking its wheels. Two sleeping bags were lying in the grass a little ways away from him. His tent was nowhere insight, so I assumed that he'd put it away already. Lightning was standing by Snow with her arms crossed, looking up at the sky. I quietly walked over and placed my sleeping bag with the other two, and waited for someone to tell me what to do.

"Everything's all good with the wheels!" Snow stood up and looked at Lightning and I with a grin. "And we're all here, so let's get movin!" Lightning reached into her pouch and pulled out a little blue ball that looked like an oversized marble. She held it out towards the sleeping bags and our tent. A faint, blue light appeared around them. Then, everything had disappeared.

This world was really something.

"But I don't know why I haven't woken up yet..." I mumbled to the ground. Snow glanced at Lightning with a "See-what-I-mean" look. Lightning put the ball in her pouch again and sat down on the motorcycle. "Let's go." She said. Snow sighed and climbed onto his seat, plopping down in front her. I shyly got on after him and sat behind Lightning. When the motorcycle started gaining speed, I would have to hold onto her so I didn't fall off, but I was terrified of that idea. I'd rather hook up a jet ski to the back and follow at a safe distance.

Snow stomped on the acceleration pedal, and made a hard left, shooting out towards the desert once again. I grabbed onto Lightning immediately because the motorcycle had hit high speeds faster than I'd thought. When I made contact with her, she flinched. As if my arms were coated with acid or something. I rolled my eyes and stared to my left, watching the endless sea of sand and sky pass by.

* * *

"So you let them escape again, did you?"

There was only one window in this enclosed room, and it was barred shut with only a few streaks of sunlight permeating the room. Aside from the window, there was a single desk with a wheeled, swivel chair behind it. Papers and files with "CLASSIFIED" stamps were strewn all over the desk. At its very front was a single name tag, framed in gold.

"Rufus Shinra."

Across from the desk, a certain general stood, beads of sweat forming across his brow. Only a few soldiers lined the walls of this interrogation room, but their assault guns and cold stares aimed at the quaking man spoke volumes.

"My most sincere apologies sir." Arsenic stood with his arms pinned at his sides and his back perfectly straight. He spoke with a clear voice, trying to show as little fear as possible. "They...ambushed me and my men-"

"A team of two? You can't be serious."

"I understand sir."

The swivel chair spun around then, and the ice-blue eyes of Shinra Corporation's President stared directly into those of the General's. On his face he had on a rather smug look. Rufus crossed his legs and reclined in the swivel chair, studying Arsenic carefully. He sighed then.

"Arsenic, what happened this time."

"I went to New Braska just as you directed me to sir, and your informant there told us that Farron and Villiers had left for Portown that morning. He also said that the two had found a girl in the desert that they had been travelling with for a brief period of time."

"A girl, hm?" Rufus asked. "So what became of this girl?"

"She was working for our informant before she escaped with Farron and Villiers, sir."

"She escaped with them?"

"Yes sir, we were going to bring her in for questioning. She was speaking negatively about the government. We also wanted to see how much information we could get out of her about Farron and Villiers. I was thinking that if we captured her then we may have been able to trap the other two, sir."

"Is she like the other two?"

"...What do you mean sir?"

An annoyed look flashed across Rufus' face. "Can she summon? Is she from Cocoon?"

"I don't know, sir. She mentioned something about where she was from. It sounded like a world unlike ours. I doubt that she's from Gaia, Spira or Cocoon sir, but I'm not sure. But then again, she could be dillusional..."

"You know too little." Rufus said, his smug grin falling into a straight, serious face. "What did she look like?"

Arsenic swallowed before answering. "She was around five feet tall, light-brown skin, light eyes, brown slightly wavy hair..."

"Her name?"

"She responds to 'Winter' Sir."

"Winter what?"

"That's it. Only Winter, sir."

Rufus reclined in his chair, his hands primly folded in his lap. "Just what we need, another to add to our list of problem children." He scoffed. "I want her name and description on every wanted poster in every area we have access too in all three continents. Once a traitor, always a traitor. As for YOU, Arsenic," Rufus flipped his pale blond hair. "I'm getting sick of you."

Arsenic stood straighter and tilted his chin up slightly. A single sweat drop trickled down the side of his face and fell onto the floor, with an almost inaudible "plip!"

"Ever since I placed you in charge of the Cocoon rougues, you've done nothing but fail to satisfy the task. You come to me every time with one excuse after another, meanwhile more of our resources and property is getting destroyed. Do you think I have time to sit here and wait for you to shape up?"Rufus' tone was grave now.

"...I'm...sorry sir...But if I may add, it was under my command that several members of that NORA group were executed, including one of the two Farrons."

Rufus considered this and eased his tensions. "True." He said. I suppose I can allow you leeway for now. However, Arsenic, allow me to remind you how replaceable you are to me. Do you know how many previous failures I've executed in the spot you stand?"

Arsenic did not want to know. He remained silent.

"Many." Rufus finished as if he were waiting for the answer to his rhetorical question. "There are plenty of worthy first class SOLDIER personnel that would be well suited for this job. I know that being in a position such as yours has its perks..." Rufus leaned in now, and rested his chin on folded hands. He narrowed his eyes at Arsenic, and smirked.

"...But don't forget that the consequences for failure are dire."

Arsenic nodded quickly, wanting nothing more than to take his leave. "Yes sir. I will not fail you any further."

"Good. Now get out."

Arsenic bowed and swiftly exited the interrogation room. He headed straight down the hallway, grateful that this particular trip to visit the President had not been his last.

Rufus shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh. He nodded at a SOLDIER guard stationed at the entrance to the interrogation room. "Bring in the next one." He ordered. The SOLDIER nodded and stuck his head out of the room to yell at someone from down the other end of the hallway. A few seconds later, the sound of heels was making its way down the hallway and into the President's interrogation room.

Rufus grinned at the silhouetted figure of the person standing in the door frame. "Ah, General Selenium." He said politely. "Please, come in."

"Of course, Mr. President." She said as she stepped in. The metal doors to the room slid shut and automatically locked themselves, once again sealing the uncertain future of yet another PSICOM General.

* * *

"Welcome to Portown!" Snow said enthusiastically.

Lighting, Snow and I now stood at the entrance to yet another city. As it turned out, Portown was located at the edge of a desert valley. It was surrounded by high cliffs and walls, some made of hardened sand and others made of stone. There were six entrances to Portown from what Snow had told me during the ride-this place really was a big as Snow had exaggerated it to be.

The gate to the city of this particular entrance was sandwiched between two cliffs formed by rock-hard sand. Some desert grass and ivy vines were growing on these walls, and there were larger areas of greenery beyond the city gates-which were wide open. The city's streets were paved with stone, and had grass, flowers, trees, and all kinds of other vegetation everywhere. The city itself was built on a steadily declining slope, dipping towards the ocean, which I could see from where I stood. The way the sunlight reflected off of the water's surface, it lit up the ocean, sparkling the way the sky does at night time in the country. It was the most beautiful thing I'd seen since I'd come here.

...wherever here was.

There were two guards stationed at this gate as well. Unlike the guards at New Braska's enterance, they were clad in light armor and had smiles on their faces. "Welcome!" One said to me as the three of us walked past them and into Portown. I shot back a nervous grin. "Hello." I said quietly.

Just like in New Braska, the place was populated within just about every square inch of space-Only natural I'd assume for an expanse like this. The place was diverse as well. People dressed as if they were foreigners were happily strolling about, with other people that looked and dressed differently than they did. The place was noisy, and clean, and just...happy. Everybody here looked so happy. It reminded me of my old neighborhood in Shibuya...

"We told the couple to meet us at the dock at high noon. We're about an hour early if my judgment is correct." Snow said. "So, uh...Let's see. We can do some shopping and restock on supplies. Let's agree to meet at Dock B in...say...45 minutes?"

"Sounds like a plan." Lightning said. She turned her back on us both and walked away, heading down the sloped street. I turned to Snow. He looked at me with a knowing glance. "You should just tag along with her for a while. I'm gonna go check the hotel that your folks guys said they'd be staying at. I don't think they're there right now, so..." He nodded towards Lightning, whose pink hair was rapidly disappearing into the crowd. I nodded and jogged after her, my pace uneven since I wasn't used to running down slopes. Snow grinned and walked in the opposite direction.

It's not that I was thrilled about going anywhere with Lightning, it's just that I felt as though I owed Snow a lot, so I was willing to do whatever he said. It was his idea to come back for me after he'd talked with my parents. He could've said that he didn't know anyone like that, he could've just left me in new Braska, but he didn't. He was also so friendly and nice despite the whole "hero" and "confident" thing he had going on. I found it annoying, but besides that, he was refreshing to be around although I hadn't really been able to talk with him.

I was finally able to catch up to Lightning, coming just short of crashing into her from my horribly uneven running. I then stumbled my way to her side, when I finally caught her attention. She looked surprised to see me, but glanced only once before turning her attention back to the street. "...Snow told me to." I said flatly. Lightning nodded, but didn't look back down at me. We continued to walk in silence until she came to a stall at the first landing of the first slope lying in front of an antique store. There was a sign on the stall, but of course, I didn't know what it said. Lightning looked at it and grinned. "People here sure are trusting..." She said as she examined the table.

This stall was selling trinkets that looked like the mechanical parts Lightning had been tinkering with all of last night. They were grouped in baskets, and there were small cards in front of the basket with numbers and more of that chicken scratch on it. I was guessing that the numbers were the prices, but then again, I wasn't sure. Lightning picked one of the parts out of the basket and looked it over. She put it back after a few seconds, dissatisfied. I looked around, trying to pretend that I wasn't there. Whenever she moved, I moved. When she examined a part, I found myself examining it too. She finally picked a part out of a basket placed all the way at the back of the stall. "Perfect." She said, placing it in her pouch. I glanced at the card next to the basket, and let out an involuntary "AYE!"

Lightning looked at me, confused.

"That's...a lot of Zeros." I said stupidly, my eyes drifting back to the basket. "Particle Accelerators cost a lot." She said simply, dropping some gil into a container at the side of the stall. She then turned around and walked away, on the move again. That's when I noticed that nobody had been manning this stall. I was a bit confused and amused at the same time. Wasn't the owner worried that his money would get stolen?

Oh well. It was none of my concern. I quickly left the table and followed after Lightning.

From then on she just continued to walk. Her eyes were locked on the road before her and her walk showcasing her confidence. Men and young boys walking by her turned their heads to stare at her in lovestruck awe. One particularly good-looking man was carrying a basket of apples. When he saw Lightning he simply dropped them-on his foot. He didn't even seem to acknowledge the slightest bit of pain, as if seeing Lightning had temporarily frozen his pain receptors. I looked up at Lightning then, looking her over. I wasn't going to lie, she was very pretty. If she wanted to, I'm sure she could've been some kind of model. However with her attitude and impassive expression...she reminded me more of a...of a...

"Soldier!" I said aloud.

Lightning stopped walking dead in her tracks and immediately placed her hand on her sword handle. "Where." She demanded, her head darting left and right. I blinked, now confused. "I was thinking out loud." I admitted. "You um...you remind me of a soldier."

Lightning eased her stance and looked down at me. "You don't say." She finally said, continuing to walk down the street. Now I was really confused, but I didn't dare to ask what she'd meant by that. There was one thing however, that I really wanted to tell her since yesterday. This morning I had mustered up the courage to toss away my pride and come clean.

"Um...Sorry I've caused so much trouble for you and Snow." I said quietly, almost inaudibly. Lightning heard me though. Rather than the usual quick, peripheral glace she'd give, she actually turned her head to face me. Her expression stayed where it was however. "I, um...I dropped the gun..." I continued. "It was an accident..."

"Your accident could've gotten us all killed." She said firmly.

"I didn't know what to do..."

"I told you what to do." She said. We'd stopped walking now and were becoming an impediment for other pedestrians. Apparently, I'd seized Lightning's attention enough to make her completely face me, although I couldn't bring myself to return her stance or heavy stare.

"I didn't want to hurt anyone. I just froze..."

"And if someone had died because you froze?" Her tone was tainted with venom. I'd definitely touched a nerve...Rather than dig myself into a deeper hole, I decided to just shut up.

"I'm not talking about me here, I can survive on my own. I'm talking about Snow, what if you'd gotten him shot? Don't just think about yourself!"

I remained quiet.

Lightning shook her head in disbelief. "You need a wake up call. If your parents really had left you in the desert, I couldn't say I'd blame them."

She turned her back on me again and walked away. I didn't follow her this time. It would seem strange after my attempt to make amends had just bit me in the ass. I sighed. I hope she didn't think I enjoyed being in this weird place any more than she enjoyed having me around. We could agree on one thing though: This dream had gone on WAAY too long. I DID need a "wake up call."

I turned in the opposite direction and walked down the street, down the second slope of this section of Portown. I needed to find something that would wake me up, that was effective and didn't involve any form of self-harm. As I was walking though, I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. Next thing I knew, I was hearing sea horns and the sound of seagulls. I'd somehow wandered onto the dock on my own!?

Burly, shaggy-looking sailors were lifting crates onto enormous sea vessels. There were countless ships in the water of varying sizes. The largest ones were closest to the port, being restocked from what it looked like. A particulary large ship further down the dock was full of people who were getting off. The smaller ships that were just barely visible on the ocean's horizon were fishing ships from what I could see. I saw several men in a mini-boat casting nets into the water, only to raise them up empty again. The dock was just as bustling as the city itself, with traders, merchants and tourists walking about. I couldn't help notice the attire that all these people were wearing however. It was all very...fantasy styled.

"MOVE IT!" A battered-looking man carrying two crates on his shoulders had pushed me to the left and continued to walk onto the ship I'd been staring at. I shot him a dirty look and wiped imaginary muck off the spot on my arm he'd touched.

There was a girl several feet in front of me who caught my eye then. She looked about my height and couldn't have been that much older than me. Her brown hair was worn shoulder length, with bangs hanging just above her eyes. She was wearing a purple, pleated dress with a flower pattern along the hem, black boots, a black camisole underneath a white sash, wrapped around her neck and over her chest, and a yellow patterened obi belt knotted in back with a bow, with two little cords wrapped around it. Two kimono sleeves decorated her arms, and an ornate hair accessory completed her outfit.

Behind her was a freakishly tall blue creature who resembled a tiger with a broken horn on his forhead. Its hair was white and fell just below his shoulders. He was wearing an intricate looking costume and weilded a spear in his right hand. He stood looking straight ahead with unwavering eyes.

In her hands, the girl was holding what looked like a decrepit, old, map. She was speaking to the blue creature and turning the map over in her hands trying to find some kind of bearing. The blue creature nodded when she spoke.

The girl then sighed and lowered the map down. Her eyes wandered around the dock, confused until they finally met mine. Without meaning too, I'd been swapping stares between her and the blue thing and she caught me. When she saw me, she smiled warmly. She tapped her blue friend on the arm and began to walk towards me. Panicked, I quickly turned my attention to the chicken scratch on the side of one of the ships and pretended to read it. I was hoping that she either wouldn't realize that I was staring at her or that she was actually on her way past me.

"Excuse me," She said, tapping me lightly on the shoulder.

_"Dammit!"_ I thought, turning around to face the girl with a fake, plastered on grin. "Y-yes?" I squeaked.

She continued to smile at me and held up her map. "I'm sorry to disturb you," She bowed. "But I'm not from this area and I need some help. Someone traded me this map, but it...well...see for yourself."

I took the map from her and opened it up. It didn't take much to realize that she'd clearly been gyped. On this piece of paper were squares, circles, lines, scribbles, and more of this world's chicken scratch. I couldn't help but shoot a confused look at her.

"...You were defenitely conned." I said.

"I thought so." The girl sighed. "You were right Kimahri, I'm so sorry." She looked up at the blue creature with an apologetic smile. The blue monster-Kimahri, grinned back and her and quickly returned to his straight, soldier's face. I had to be honest-that thing scared me.

"I'm looking for Port B." The girl said to me. "Would you happen to know where that might be? I've been told that a ship for the mainland is going to set sail at high noon and I need to get on it immidiately."

"Well..." I began. "I'm not from here either...but I'm also looking for Port B. I...don't know how I got here."

The girl's face fell, drenching me in guilt sauce. I wanted to help, but even with the little about this place that she knew, she still knew more than me. "I'm sorry." I said apologetically handing the map back to her. "It's alright." She said, taking it back and giving it to Kimahri, who folded it up and placed it in a pouch.

I wasn't sure what time it was now, but judging by the sun's position in the sky, I needed to get to Port B fast. Unfortunately, I didn't know where that was. I mentally kicked myself for ever thinking that losing Lightning was a good idea in the first place. My parents would be coming to get me soon and I was standing here in God-knows-where, lolligagging around. This girl had the right idea, although the thought of it repulsed me, I would need to start asking around for directions too.

I took a step back and waved "goodbye" to the girl. "Well then..." I said. "...Be seeing you..."  
"Wait!" The girl moved her hand slightly as if she were planning to grab my arm. I did as she said, wondering what I'd done wrong.

"If you aren't waiting for anybody, maybe we could go look for Port B together? We're all going to the same place, and we may not get lost so easily with three people in a group."

"Okay!" I said quickly, just as she'd finished. Truthfully, I didn't want to be stuck wandering around this strange city on my own either. I'd rather travel around with a stranger I'd just met than end up wandering into predator's territory alone.

The girl smiled again and held her hand out to me. "Yuna." She said. I took her hand and shook it firmly.  
"Winter." I smiled back.

* * *

"Are you travelling with someone?" Yuna asked as we strolled down the dock. Kimahri was following closely behind us. I tried to keep my distance from it as much as possible without seeming rude.

"Ah, No." I replied. "I was with two other people before we all split up. I somehow got lost and wandered onto this dock."

"I see." Yuna said. "Were the people your friends?"

"Not really. No. They're strangers, but they've saved my life twice. They brought me here because they found my parents."

"You lost your parents?!" She gasped.

"Yeah, I did somehow. It's the weirdest thing ever...Snow said that the couple had said that I'd fallen out of a caravan and was carried away by the wind, but I have no memories of a caravan. I just remember waking up in the desert."

Yuna was silent for a moment. "That's certainly strange..." She finally said. "But I'm glad you found your parents. That doesn't usually happen nowadays."

I blinked. "Why?"

"Well," Yuna began. "With all the pandemonium going on with this strange World Merge, the government's gone out of control and the Invalets are running rampant, just killing and destroying everything, as you know...Lots of families have been torn apart and never heard from again because of all this trouble." Yuna looked up at the sky and lightened her steps, as if lost in thought. "This place is truly blessed. It hasn't yet been touched by evil..."

...I was lost.

"What's an Invalet?" I asked.

Yuna's eyes widened in shock, just like Arsenic's when I'd asked him about PSICOM. "You don't know what an Invalet is? Truly?"

I shook my head.

"They're creatures that are said to be the embodiment of evil. There are rumors that these monsters are being produced in masses by Shinra, and others are monsterous spawns with no origin. They are literally everywhere but here in this city because neither The Sanctum nor Shinra has been able to claim this land yet. Wherever either of those organizations are, hell follows." Yuna explained. "I'm surprised that you haven't heard of them, especially if you're not from this city."

Now that she mentioned it, I DID hear Lightning say something about an Invalet that day she'd been arguing with Snow. So that's what they were...and here I thought she was saying that a disabled person had murdered my family. But I still had another pressing question.

"Who is Shinra?" I asked.

Yuna gave me another look of disbelief. This one a bit more flabbergasted than the former.

"...Are they working together with PSICOM?" I asked awkwardly.

"...Winter, do you know about the incident with the World Merge?" She asked.

"I don't know what that is."

Yuna and Kimahri exchanged glances, then looked at me with serious faces.

"Where are you from?" Yuna asked, maintaing her polite tone.

"Shibuya." I answered positively.

"Where's that?"

"Japan. It's a ward of Tokyo."

Now it was Yuna's turn to look confused. "I've never heard of a place like that existing within Gaia, Spira or Cocoon..."

"Where are those places?" I asked innocently. "And who is Shinra? All I know is PSICOM."

"How do you know PSICOM and not know Shinra?"

"I had a run in with someone named Arsenic."

Yuna gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth. She then shushed me, and motioned with her hand for me to keep my voice down. "Don't say things like that too loudly." She whispered. "General Arsenic, from what I know is a PSICOM general in charge of Cocoon Rebellion Extermination. If people hear that you had a run in with him, they're going to turn you in."

My eyes widened. "B-but, I'm not a rebel! I don't even know what Cocoon is!" Yuna grinned at me. "I believe you, but not everyone will. Around here, names like Shinra, PSICOM, and Invalet are common knowledge. In order to not have heard of any of those, you would have to be genuinely clueless or faking. But you don't seem to me like the kind of person who would be faking that kind of thing."

Yuna and I continued to walk down the port in silence for a while, until she finally spoke again.

"So you're being followed too..." She sighed. "Small world..."

"Too?"

I glanced at Yuna who simply smiled back. "Shinra kidnapped some friends of mine." She said. "They were accused of having ties to a rebel group called NORA, however they're innocent..."

"Winter!"

I heard Snow's booming voice from several feet away. He was further down the dock, pushing past people in an effort to reach me. Lightning was right behind him, coolly walking by. She didn't need to shove past people because they simply parted the way for her.

When Snow reached me, he was panting. He put his hand on my shoulder and grinned. "There you are!"

Yuna's eyes flashed for a minute when she saw Snow and Lightning, but she didn't say anything. Kimahri took a glance at Yuna, as if he expected her to speak up.

"We've been looking all over the dock for you! What happened, kiddo?"

"I got lost..." I murmured, my head hanging from shame.

"I thought you were with Light?"

"I thought so too." Lightning said, now standing next to him.

I glanced at Lightning with a straight face and quickly turned away without saying anything. Snow raised an eyebrow at me, and then turned to Lightning. She was staring grimly at the ocean. He turned back to me and leaned in slightly, as if he had a secret to tell. "Did, eh..." He nodded towards Lightning. "Did something happen with you two?"

"Doesn't matter." I said sourly. "After today I'll be out of your hair for good and she can forget anything ever happened."

Snow stared at me for a moment, as if replaying my words in his head before responding with a slow nod. "Right." He said. "...Well, your folks are waiting for you on the ship." He turned to the humongous boat that lie directly to my right.

"I thought you said Port B?" I asked.

"This _is_ Port B." Snow pointed to the floor. The area in which we were standing was painted red in an intricate pattern beneath our feet. "See? Port. B." Snow nudged me. "Don't tell me you forgot the alphabet!" He was joking, but the reality was: I never knew the alphabet. Not any from this world anyway.

"It's noon?" I asked.

"Past noon now. You're late by 10 minutes." He gave me a hard slap on the back, and I tripped to the left slightly, arching my shoulders from the sting. "Go on, they're coming for you." He nodded towards the gangplank.

I smiled up at him and sprinted up to the deck.

"...This is the ship, right?" Lightning asked Snow once I'd disappeared from view.

"Yup. The one to the Mainland of New Midgar." Snow assured her.

"Meet me at the back of the ship once the girl and her family leave."

"The girl?" Snow asked, taken aback by Lightning's brashness.

"Whatever you call her." She said, walking onto the deck.

Snow sighed and shook his head. It was probably for the best that Winter was leaving. He had a feeling that if neither PSICOM nor Shinra got to either of the two, then they would probably kill each other.

"Hello, sir." Yuna said cheerfully to Snow.

Snow grinned back and saluted her.

"You must be the people Winter was talking about." She said.

"Are you a friend of hers?" Snow asked.

"We just met, but she's a very nice girl. She spoke about you. My name is Yuna. I'm a summoner from Besaid Island in Spira."

"Spira?" Snow asked incredulously. "How'd you get all the way to Portown?"

"...I would call it destiny, but that would make it sound..._pleasant_, you know?"

Snow nodded. "I hear ya." He offerend a hand out to Yuna. "I'm Snow." Yuna shook his hand and returned his grin. The two then walked onto the ship's deck together, Kimahri following behind them.  
Passengers aboard the ship were busily walking around, looking for their children or luggage. Sailors remained preoccupied with their cargo, while the captain of the ship was conversing with other passengers at the ship's bow. I stood in the midst of all this, at the bottom of the ship's mast, on the lookout for my parents.

Snow and Yuna came onto the ship then. Yuna bowed to Snow, then walked off towards the bow with Kihmari. Snow spotted me instantly and walked over. Lighting was nowhere to be found as usual.

"...Where are they?" I asked him indirectly. He leaned on the ship's mast and relaxed with his arms crossed behind is head. "Don't worry, they'll be here. I told them that I'd go find you and wait here."

"Didn't they say that they had to leave at noon?"

"They wouldn't leave without their daughter."

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah. You're right."

We remained stationairy, waiting for my parents in awkward silence for a couple of minutes.

"Oh!" a lightbulb came on, and I abruptly turned to face Snow.

"Um..." I began. I'd never been good with "Thank You's" or "Goodbyes."

"Something up, kiddo?"

"I just wanted to say...um. Thank you. For everything."

"Don't sweat it." He grinned.

"I want to repay you somehow." I said.

"You don't have to do anything. Just seeing a family reunited again is payment enough for me."  
I smiled weakly and turned my eyes to the floor.

"Just remember what I said though, okay? About changing your identity?"

I nodded. "I've already got a story." I said. "My new name is Divine. I'm 17 years old and was adopted by merchants in New Braska."

He chuckled. "You're on your way."

...There was more silence.

I sighed. "But still...this is shaping up to be the weirdest, most realistic dream I've ever had. I kinda like it, but I want to wake up..."

"...Why do you keep referring to everything like its part of a dream?" Snow asked, his face now serious.  
"Because it IS a dream. Just look at this place!" I waved an arm in the air. "The way the people are dressed, the monsters that roam the deserts, the two moons that rise at night time...everything about this world is just so fantastical. It doesn't happen in real life. And yet...it's so real! I still sometimes feel the sting from the cuts on my hands. I shiver when its cold, and I sleep through the night as if I weren't already asleep. How could I not have woken up by now, I wonder..." My voice trailed off.

Snow sat up then. "Winter, just because this kind of surrounding isn't what you're used to doesn't mean that its not real. I'M real. YOU'RE real. You still feel the sting in your hands because you feel real pain. You sleep at night because you're tried. You keep waking up here because you were never dreaming."

I shrugged. "That's impossible!" My voice was raised slightly higher than it should have been for someone who shouldn't be phased by his comment.

"You know, Winter, I've been thinking. The reason you're here and you don't know anything about this world...I think it has something to do with-"

**"OLIVIA!"**

A frantic woman's voice tore through the ship's cacaphony and caught me and Snow's attention. The owner of the voice was a tall woman with fair skin and blond hair. She was dressed like some kind of gypsie, and was wearing a pink, studded bandana with large, hoop earrings. Following her was a heavyset, muscular man with a darker skin tone, a bit darker than mine. He was cleanly shaven and was also dressed like a gypsie, only he had no hoop earrings.

The woman stormed her way over to Snow and I, but not out of anger, moreso out of anticipation. I looked to my left and right for this woman's cherished Olivia to say something and charge over to her, however I was quite shocked when the woman ran up to me and squeezed me so hard that I swore I heard and felt my ribs crack.

"OLIVIA!" She wailed. "WE THOUGHT WE HAD LOST YOU FOREVER!" She sniffed. She held me at arms length and smoothed some hair out of my face. "We thought an Invalet had gotten to you..."

I stared back up at this woman unable to say anything.

Snow also looked confused. "Olivia...?" He repeated in a voice below a whisper.

The gypsie man finally caught up with his wife. When he reached us, he was panting. He had a huge, happy grin on his face. His eyes were pale brown, like mine...but...

_...When our eyes met, it was clear that we had never seen each other before._

* * *

**_...Who are these strangers?_**

**_...Were these the two that Snow was talking about?_**

**__****A dashed dream! **

**If they aren't the ones, then...**

**...what happens now? **

**Find out in the next chapter of ****_White Snow Dimensia!_**

* * *

****Enter, Yuna and Kimahri! Hooray for Chapter 5!**

****I think I can say that it should get better from this point on. I'm still organizing the plot though.**

****Was it a nice comeback from the last chapter? Was it something you were expecting? Tell me what you think. R&R.**

**Thank you for reading so far!**

**-Kamikimmy13**


	7. Chapter 6 - Plan B?

_**Chapter Six**_

* * *

His hopeful smile faded slowly into a straight face. His eyes, which had been lit up before turned blank.

The woman still hadn't gotten it yet. Tears were sliding down her cheeks as she spoke in soft tones. I didn't hear what she was saying however. I couldn't bring myself to fully grasp the fact that these were strangers. Snow realized his error and his face fell.

"Malliah." The man said, placing his hands on his wife's to take her hands off my shoulders. "...That's...this girl...isn't our Olivia..." He said quietly. The woman stopped talking. She looked at her husband, then looked at me. She glared at him and snatched her hands away, grabbing me up in a protective hug. "What are you saying?!" She shrieked. "Of COURSE she is! How can you not recognize your own daughter?!"

I remained quiet.

"Malliah," The man said, sternly this time. "I understand that you want to see her again...but this girl is NOT Olivia. I can recognize my own daughter, woman! Why would I be lying to you at a time like this?!"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE BLIND!" She screamed.

"You're in denial." The man said. He turned to me then, and managed to pry his wife's arms from around my waist. She was squirming and throwing a fit trying to grab me again. Snow looked down at me, waiting for me to say something.

"...Winter." I said finally. "My name is Winter."

The woman's eyes widened, but the man's stayed blank as they were. "What are you saying?" She asked softly, disbelief in her voice. "Olivia, it's us, your mom and dad. Remember? We were taken in by a caravan and go travelling all over. It's your favorite thing to do..."

I shook my head and stepped back.

"I TOLD you, Malliah!" The man bellowed angrily. "She's not our daughter! Why won't you just face facts woman, Olivia's DEAD!"

"NO!" The pale blond woman screamed. "She's here! She's right here! You stupid man-she's RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!"

The man turned to Snow and bowed. With unenthusiastic eyes he said: "Thank you for trying to help us." Then he grabbed up his wife, hoisting her over his shoulder and started towards the dock. The woman was resisting with all of her stubborn power.

"SHE'S RIGHT THERE!" She insisted, tears streaming down the sides of her face. "OLIVIA! OLIVIAA!"

With a hard pull, the man had yanked her off of the ship's deck and onto the boardwalk. Snow and I watched him drag her away, making heads turn as they went, until they had disappeared down the dock.

"Dammit..." Snow growled under his breath. "Winter, I...I'm sorry. I didn't get enough information. Light was right..." He glared down at the floor and clenched his fists. "I could've saved a lot of people a lot of pain if I'd just..."

I slowly turned my face up to Snow and looked him in his eyes.

"Snow..." I blinked.

"...Where am I?"

* * *

_**"ALL ABOAAAARD!"**__ The captain yelled over the noise of the ship's deck. On the docks, two cargo workers were lifting the gangplank off of the deck's surface. The sound of an anchor being slowly raised up echoed throughout all of Port B. Crowds were gathered at the ship's railing, waving goodbye to the people still on the dock. _

_Others were already below deck, getting ready to rest up for the long journey ahead. The sun looked like it was just about ready to set below the Horizon once again, and kiss another of the day's heartaches 'goodbye.' Soon, the sun would completely set. There would only be the gentle rocking of the ship's boat then to lull us all to sleep..._

_..._

"So they weren't her parents." Lightning said flatly.

Snow was leaning over the railing of the ship's stern, his gaze lost in the blue depths of ocean water, and his mind in a daze. He had just barely been able to tell Lightning the story without feeling like a complete fool. This was no surprise to Lightning however, who'd known all along that this would happen.

"No." He answered finally. "They weren't."

Lightning let out a frustrated sigh. "This is just perfect." She grumbled, putting a hand on her hip and pacing the deck. "Do you know what this means, Snow?" She asked Snow, to which the blond man did not answer. "Our entire mission's execution was lying on the hope that that girl found her parents. I warned you not to screw this up, Snow!"

"Sorry." He said plainly.

"The place we're going...we can't take her with us, Snow. We can't. I've just gone along with it up until now, but it ends here. You need to figure out what you're going to do with her. Fast."

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do, Lightning. I was hoping just as much as you were that I'd be right. I don't have a plan B..."

"As usual." Lightning said coldly.

Snow didn't respond.

"When this ship stops in New Midgar, You need to take her to some kind of orphanage." The pink haired soldier ordered more than suggested.

"Who said there'll be an orphange in New Midgar?" Snow asked, an angry tone rising in his voice.

"Where isn't there an orphanage nowadays?!" Lightning shot back.

"Lightning, you KNOW we can't do that!" He growled.

"And why not?!" The pink-haired soldier asked angrily.

"Because New Midgar is the SOLDIER and PSICOM Capital of the World, and Arsenic just so happens to know exactly what Winter looks like, her name, who she's with, and knowing him, he's probably got PSICOM and SOLIDER guards scouting the whole city for her by now! Once that happens it'll be too late for an identity change!"

"How's that MY problem?!" Lightning shrieked.

"It's OUR problem now, because if Arsenic gets his hands on her, she just might tell him everything...She knows enough about us to get us all in trouble."

Lightning glared at Snow, but remained silent knowing that he was absolutely right. His words sank in, clouding her mind with all sorts of worries and problems.

Now the two "wanted's" were in a pinch. Winter was pretty much one of "them" now: A rebel wanted by the new government She was a mysterious girl whom the two had found in the desert, bruised and battered. She'd had no memory of anything prior to her alleged "waking up" in the middle of the Drylands. She had no powers, no last name, no knowledge of this world, and she didn't know how to use a weapon farther than she could blow one. She didn't talk much, keeping mostly to herself, as if she were keeping some kind of major, hidden secret. How had someone like that gotten tangled into the lives of two rouges?

She joined Snow in leaning over the stern's edge, now lost in deep thought. What were they supposed to do?

"She's going to have to stay with us for now and learn how to use a weapon." Snow said after what seemed like an eternity of silence, breaking Lightning's thoughts.

"What?" She asked in disbelief. She gave Snow a confused look, as if he'd just told her that the moon were made of cheese.

Snow sighed, and tilted his head to look at his pink-haired comrade. "She'll have to stay with us, and learn how to fight." He'd said this as though it was an obvious solution that Lightning should have seen coming.

The thing was however, that she'd seen it coming the whole time. From the minute he'd said: "Let's go back for her", she'd just known in her gut that this was how things would end up for them. Despite all of her efforts in trying to avoid it, The Universe had once again spat in her face.

"And how are you going to do that?" Lightning asked with an amused smirk.

"Me? I'm done. YOU'RE going to teach her how to fight."

"Excuse me?"

"You're an ex-PSICOM first-class soldier. If anyone can teach her a thing or two about fighting, you can." Snow said. "Besides, it might help you if you try spending a little time with her, she won't seem like such a burden-~."

"I already told you Snow," Lightning said firmly. "I'm not here to babysit. If you want to just screw around and play "hero" all day then be my guest, but even if it kills me, so help me I am going to kill those government bastards...for Serah...for Sazh...for everyone he killed! And neither you nor that dillusional little _kid_ downstairs are going to change my mind!"

The pink-haired soldier abruptly turned around and walked towards the stairs on that led to the cabins below deck. Snow watched her leave, knowing better than to follow her after she'd blown up like that. Ever since the NORA incident, her speeches of revenge had been dominating most of the conversations in some way. She would get over it eventually, Snow figured. That's when he'd bring it up again. Whether she liked it or not, Winter was here to stay...at least for now.

Snow sighed and turned his gaze to the sky. They were a little ways away from the Portown docks now, and the people who'd been waving farewells earlier were now scattered about the deck and below in the cabins. It was now just the low hum of people chattering and seagulls calling out to each other in the background.

Snow's hand mindlessly drifted to the silver necklace that he'd kept hidden underneath his T-shirt. Serah's necklace. He played around with it for a while, his fiance's memory now in mind.

Snow sighed. "Ah, Serah..." He said, letting out a single "heh." "You have got to do something with that sister of yours."

"Who is Serah?"

Snow jumpped slightly, and turned to his side to see Yuna standing there by herself. She was smiling, her head tilted, as if she were waiting for an answer. Snow returned her smiled and held out his necklace for her to see. "My wife." He answered.

"Oh, you're married? That's so special!" She walked closer to Snow and stared at the beautiful necklace made of silver and glass.

"...Almost married." Snow finally admitted, letting the necklace drop back onto his chest.

Yuna sensed the deep hurt in his silence and her smile faded. "I see." She said softly. "I'm sorry." Snow waved at the air with his hand, dismissing Yuna's apology. "Don't worry about it."

There was awkward silence between the two as they both stared out into the ocean.

"Soldier's taken a lot from us all, huh?" Yuna interupted the silence with a pleasant tone.

"Yeah...What happened to you?" Snow asked absentmindedly.

"...SOLDIER came to Bevelle when my friends and I were visiting the temple there. I was to perform the sending for a Maester-to-be that had passed away before his time. They were ransacking the city, looking for someone named Nora."

Snow perked up then, and his eyes drifted to brunette by his side.

"They broke down the doors to the temple and held everyone there at gunpoint saying: "We're here under the authority of Shinra Corporation on reports claiming that NORA is being harbored in here." Yuna grinned slightly. "I was so confused. I was looking around, waiting for Nora to appear. I thought: "Who is Nora?" She shook her head. "I found out later that NORA is actually many people..."

"...SOLDIER opened fire in the temple. They killed a majority of the people inside, including two of my closest friends. I only got out alive because Kimahri was able to save me. The rest of the people who'd been hiding within the temple who hadn't been shot were taken by SOLDIER to be thrown in prison. My cousin Rikku was taken, as well as Tidus, a dear friend of mine." Yuna looked up at Snow then, her smile only faintly visible now. "Snow Villiers." She said. "The leader of NORA. I've...wanted to meet you."

His mouth would not make words, and he felt the weight of responsibility fall on his shoulders. However, for the second time that day, Snow had felt another overwhelming pang of guilt that an apology could not suffice for.

"If you don't mind me asking," Yuna spoke again, "May I ask why you're taking the boat to New Midgar when you're on both SOLDIER and PSICOM'S most wanted list?"

_"I owe her at least an answer."_ He thought.

"SOLDIER's holding friends of mine captive too. They're set to be executed on the day we're supposed to arrive. They were...they are members of NORA."

Yuna nodded, satissfied with the response. "Then our missions are the same." She said. "Earlier on my travels, I came across a young man and some companions of his on my way to Portown. I...I forget his name, but he too was heading to New Midgar for the exact reason you and I are. I told him to meet me at the New Midgar port today so we could go get our friends together. From what I've heard, the pink-haired woman you're travelling with is ex-PSICOM, yes?"

Snow nodded. "Yeah. Lightning." He said.

" , if it would not trouble you, I would like to personally request your assistance in rescuing our comrades from the clutches of our opressors." She bowed. "It would be my honor."

Snow didn't know what to say other than "yes". It was more of an obligation however he felt, as he heard himself say "...Of course we'll help you."

Yuna straightened up, and now she had on a smile that made Snow momentarily forget the seriousness of the situation at hand.

"Thank you so much! Kimahri and I owe you and Ms. Lightning our lives."

Snow nodded, and let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad I was able to help somebody." He said.

"What do you mean?" Yuna asked.

So for the second time that day, Snow had told the story of his parental mix up. Meanwhile, the victim herself lie in a cabin downstairs, in a daze, rocking back and forth along with the ship's oceanic motion.

"_We're on Gaia right now."_ _He'd said to her earlier. "But there's Cocoon up on the northern hemisphere, and Spira towards the west."_

_"Gaia..." She'd repeated slowly, the emotion gone from her voice. "Why am I here..." _

_"I don't know." Snow admitted. "Where you're from, how you got here, those are all things you should know but..."_

_"Where are my mom and dad...What happened to Kobe and Rei..." She'd asked. _

_"I...don't know." The blond had admitted shamefully. _

_"Did an Invalet kill them...?"_

_"If you're not from this world, then I don't think they could have reached them." He'd said._

_..._

"So they're alive then..." I said to the four walls. "But where are they now..."

* * *

**What happens next? **

**Excellent question!**

**Find out in the next chapter of ****_White Snow Dimensia!_**

* * *

**Thank you for reading. R&R.**

**-Kamikimmy13**

****I know the hook for this chapter sucks. But stay tuned for the next chapter C=**


	8. Chapter 7 - Operation Storm Zero

Chapter Seven

* * *

_I dragged myself downstairs and into the kitchen. It was about 7:00am now. In another 30 minutes, I'd have to head for the train station to catch my ride to school...Although that place was the last place I wanted to be right now._

_Dad was sitting at the kitchen table, a half empty coffee mug lying in front of him. He was engulfed in the morning news as usual, wearing his work clothes. He too would be leaving soon to head off to work. _

_At the stove, mom was whistling a random tune whilst preparing miso soup. That would be my breakfast for the morning. I sat down at the kitchen table and waited for her to finish. I couldn't help but stare at the back of dad's newspaper._  
_"LEGENDARY METEOR SHOWER, SUNDAY AT 11:00 PM."_

_My eyes lit up as I read over the caption, and I felt myself smile. I'd always been attracted to stars for some reason. Who wouldn't? After all, they were so beautiful! I leaned in further to read the small print beneath the headline, detailing the events that local astronomers were planning for that day. _

_"Absolutely not, Winter." Mom said as she placed a hot bowl of soup in front of me. I looked up at her with a confused face. "Huh?"_

_"No meteors." She said, pointing to dad's newspaper. "It's late and on a Sunday. You'll have school the next day, and I couldn't possibly allow Kobe and Rei to stay up that late."_

_I picked up the bowl with my hands and raised it to my mouth. _

_It was nice and warm, Fresh out of the pot. _

_Just like all of mom's meals._

* * *

I don't know how long I stayed below deck. I'd lost track of time. The cabin's ceiling had just been so...captivating. It helped me think. It inspired me to try and remember.

_"What was I doing that day?"_ I thought. _"Who was around me when the sky was torn open? The tree...did I...fall out of a tree? If this really wasn't a dream...then what kind of reality was this?"_

**Knock. knock. knock.**

My attention turned to the door. Without thinking, I said: "It's open." Snow was standing in the doorframe, with Lightning and Yuna behind him. I looked at the trio with a bewildered expression, not understanding what was going on, and not really caring at the same time.

"Winter," Snow said in a serious tone. "I think I owe you an explanation."

* * *

Lightning stood near the door, leaned up against the wall, her face turned away from me. Snow was sitting at the foot of my bed, his eyes locked onto the carpet pattern. Yuna was sitting on a stool in front of a wooden desk in the corner of the room. "_If they're going to have a serious chat with me, then why is Yuna here?"_ I couldn't help thinking. Not that I had anything against her, its just that we'd all just met only a few hours ago, and now she was sitting casually amongst the group just as vital words were about to be spoken. At this point however, her presence here was the least of my concerns.

"...I already told you about Gaia and Cocoon and Spira," Snow began, refusing to make eye contact with me. "But I don't think its really fair that you don't know much about PSICOM or Shinra."

I nodded, my expression impassive.

"Shinra is the Mega Corporation that runs this world." Snow explained. "Years ago, they nearly killed Gaia by taking life energy from the planet until it was all just a barren wasteland. A meteor destroyed their city-Midgar, and for awhile Shinra was just a thing of the past. Not too long after that however, they suddenly rose to power again under the command of the previous President of Shira Corporation: Rufus Shinra. He told everyone that he'd had a 'revelation' that would contribute to Gaia's prosperity. Time passed, and people believed the rumors that were spreading about a new "Utopia" that he had planned to establish for them, although he never told anyone exactly what his plans were.

One day however, after months of rumors and no demonstration, the ground suddenly opened up. It nearly split Gaia completely in half. There was a flash of light and an earthquake that lasted for about a week straight. When all the calamity was over, it was as though nothing had happened. But we later realized that lands that hadn't been around before had suddenly appeared after the light. The tear down the center of the World never closed up. It's still there to this day, and people call it "The World Line." People say that its the origin of this World Merge that you've probably heard about." He finished.

"By World Merge," Yuna added. "We really do mean that our worlds were merged together. I am from another world named Spira. It's in the Western hemisphere of this planet, about 24,000 miles from the western coast of New Midgar."

"New Midgar is the name Shinra gave to the Gaia mainland after people realized that the World Merge was a success. Since then, Shinra's become the de-facto ruler of Gaia, Spira, and Cocoon." Snow said.

"Spira was easy to take over because their whole world has no solid military. There were rebels but they were disposed of easily." Lightning said. "Cocoon and Gaia had a war that went on for about five months, but Gaia won the war. The Sanctum was made to join forces with Shinra's new government and have both PSICOM and SOLDIER become the military of Shinra's new world. We agreed because we didn't have a choice. Things were peaceful for about a week before it got ugly again."

"People were starting to despise Shinra's new government because it had become a dictatorship. They wanted their freedom back, and their worlds back, but neither Shinra nor the Sanctum paid them any mind. That's how rebel organizations like "The Spira Crusaders" and "NORA" came to be. While I was working for PSICOM, I also heard of a third rebel group called AVALANCHE that had its origins somewhere in a city not too far from New Midgar's Capital..."

"Wait a minute," I stopped Lightning quickly. "Did you say that you used to work for PSICOM?"

Lightning sighed, and gave a single nod. "Yeah," She said. "I did."

"I was an orphan raised by the Sanctum." Snow said.

"So..." I said slowly, taking everything in. "You're both betraying the government that took you in and raised you up...?"

"Yep." Snow said.

"But...why?"

"Because we had to." He answered simply. "The things the Sanctum and Shinra are doing are heinous. I didn't want to be associated with a govenment like that, so I fought back. Lightning left the Sanctum and joined NORA for the same reason."

"Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight." I interupted, scratching my thobbing head. "So, a psycho took over the world, and then by some sinister means he managed to somehow take three different worlds from seperate dimensions and smash them into one...?"

"That's a major part of it, yeah." Snow nodded.

"...And you're trying to tell me that I'm not dreaming?"

"That's right, kiddo!"

I shook my head, dismissing his answer. I was totally lost, and just wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. Maybe three was the magic number? After this talk was over, I would lay down and wake up back in my bed, on Earth, where things made sense.

"So what does all this have to do with me?" I asked once I'd come-to.

Snow looked at Lightning, who nodded at him. "We think your being here may be indirectly related as a side-effect of the World Merge." He said.

I blinked.

"If we're right, then you're not from either of these three dimensions and we really have no idea how you could've gotten here." Snow continued. "But that doesn't matter right now. Listen, Winter. You remember Arsenic, right?"

"Yes." I answered.

"Arsenic is a high-ranking PSICOM General who was put in power by Rufus Shinra to exterminate rebels from Cocoon. He's been chasing after us for a long time because...well, I'm NORA's leader and Lightning betrayed the Sanctum. Our capture and execution would pretty much mean the end of the world for fellow rebels." He said. "When we rescued you the other day from him, he probably suspected that we had a pretty close connection in order to come save you. So that means..."

"...That he...thinks I'm a rebel too..." I said slowly, with complete and utter disbelief, sinking into the wall.

"Yeah." Snow replied.

"Which means he's after me too..." I continued.

"Yep." Snow agreed.

"Which means...I'm...I'm dead."

"Naaah, don't say that!" He urged. "That's not what it means at all. It just means that...you have to learn how to fight. Fast. And I mean fast."

I stared at the blond man, confused.

"Don't tell me they're on the ship?!" I shrieked, panicked.

"No. They're not here. At least not now." Snow said uneasily.

"This boat is heading to New Midgar." Lightning said. "Its the most heavily guarded area in the world, almost ninety-five percent populated with personnel from PSICOM, SOLDIER, and their informants. It houses the largest land prison in the world called "Sector Zero". Anyone who goes in that prison doesn't come out."

I didn't like where this was going.

"And because you have been officially labelled by Shinra as a traitor to society..."

Pleeease don't say what I think you're gonna say...

"You're stuck with us. And you're officially apart of operation: "Storm Zero." She finished, dropping the bomb.

...I stopped breathing.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?! I CAN'T BREAK INTO A PRIS-" Snow dived onto my side of the bed and clasped a gloved hand over my mouth. I continued to scream muffled objections into his hand. The very idea of stepping onto enemy territory where well over half of the population was out to kill me was just not something I was interested in. In fact, the idea terrified me. I didn't even want to consider it an idea! It was more like a joke! A prank! And something I absolutely REFUSED to do!

"Don't speak so loudly!" Snow ordered.

I ignored him and continued on with muffled shrieks of contempt and outright refusal.

"Well," Lightning said lightly, taking a step towards me. "You could just take the boat back to Portown and try to start a new life there on your own. But let me tell you exactly what's going to happen. You're gonna get there. Someone on the deck is going to see you and recognize you because your face and description has now been put on a wanted poster on every wall in the city."

"Someone's going to say "Oh, I saw that girl the other day get on the boat with a lady with pink hair, and a man with blond hair!" And then the other people are going to say: "Yeah, now that you mention it, I remember her too!" The guards are going to come. You're gonna try to hide on a ship somewhere, but you won't be able to because the captains won't let you back on their boat. So then you'll try to run around the city looking for a hiding spot, but there'll be nowhere to hide because news would have spread so fast, that everywhere you walked, people would automatically know who you are,"

She was walking closer towards me now, and my eyes followed her movements as she crossed the room slowly to get to me.  
"The guards will catch you, and they'll call either PSICOM or SOLDIER to bring you in for questioning. PSICOM or SOLDIER will capture you, and bring you to Rufus to be tried for crimes of treason that you didn't even have to commit. Without even looking at you, Rufus will say: "Guilty". SOLDIER will drag you out of Shinra headquarters, and into the streets of New Midgar where a live newscast will be waiting, to televise your death for the world to see. SOLDIER will then put you out in front of a firing squad, and proceed to shoot you until every part of your body's got a bullet in it."

I stared at her with a crazed expression, not knowing what to think. Lightning was in front of me now, a cocky smirk on her face. "I've watched it happen a thousand times. I'm not bullshitting you."

Snow took his hand off my mouth. "B-but," I stuttered. "What if I get there and they...and they find out!"

"They'll have to find out, first." Lightning said.

"And if they DO? If we get CAPTURED?"

Lightning straightened up and turned around, walking towards the door. "Then I suggest you bring a bullet-proof vest." She said without looking back. "Whatever plans you had for the future, they're screwed now. When Shinra's got you on lock, with or without us, you're as good as dead. When Snow's done talking to you, go to the cargo hold."

She left the room then, and walked down the hallway. I was dazed, staring at the door even after she was gone.  
"She certainly gets to the point." Yuna smiled.

"That's Lightning for you." Snow agreed.

* * *

I went to the cargo hold right after Snow and Yuna had left. Yuna had tried to explain the events of tomorrow to me, but I hadn't heard much. I was still thinking of a plan B...there had to be some kind of place I could hide in...

_"Someone on the deck is going to see you and recognize you because your face and description has now been put on a wanted poster on every wall in the city."_

Lightning's prophecy had been replaying itself over and over in my mind. I had never felt so helplessly screwed before...

...Actually, there was that one time when my crush had blackmailed me into taking his SAT for him. I smiled at the memory. A friend of mine had gone to the bookstore and bought eroge_(1.)_ novels for her boyfriend to read. At school, her homeroom teacher did a bag inspection. Me, being the pushover of a friend that I am, let her keep the books in my schoolbag. Unfortunately, I'd left my schoolbag in the bleachers after gym class. When my crush had found me, he had a maniacal grin on his face. That was one of the few universal facial expressions that let you know that you were in deep shit.

Thinking back to those past memories confused me however. Here I was in a new world...alledgely. However, I still had my own memories of my own life. When those two gyspsies had turned out to be strangers, I was really considering the idea that I wasn't dreaming. Seeing that woman's tears, and the man's hopeless, dead gaze...And the hopelessness and sadness I myself had felt when I'd realized my parents weren't coming had sparked something within my inner psyche. However after hearing about this World Merge and Shinra and PSICOM and Invalets and whatnot, I was convinced once again that this was just one of the strangest nightmares ever. If I wasn't dreaming, then I was high. One or the other.

The cargo storage room was located at the very bottom of the ship where it was dark and the spiders crawled. There were laterns running along the sides of the corridor that led to the room at the end of the hall. I placed my hand on the battered, wooden doorknob and pushed on the door, slightly surprised that it was open. It was dimly lit in the storeroom, and I reeeeeally didn't want to go in there, but Lightning scared me more than the darkness. I didn't want to know what would happen to me if she'd been waiting for me and I never showed up.

I only vaguely saw the pink hair when I entered the room because it was surprisingly darker than I'd thought. She was leaned up against the wall, her arms crossed, staring impatiently at the wooden floorboards. When she heard the door creak, she raised her head and looked at me without saying anything. I cautiously crept across the floor towards her, remaining as calm as I could. The darkness was making my skin crawl, and it smelled like death in here.

I stopped at a cautious distance away from Lightning who had been watching me with critical eyes the entire time. I stared back at her, waiting for something to happen.

Lightning snapped out of her daze and reached behind a crate that had been on the wall next to her. She first pulled out a strange looking sword similar to the one she had, and next she took out an equally weird-looking yet easily recognizable version of a pistol. She held the sword out to me first and waited for me to take it.

As I held it in my hands and waved it around slightly, I felt strange. The sword was light for a weapon, it couldn't have weighed for than a couple of pounds. I smoothed my hand over it metal surface somewhat awestruck. She handed me the pistol next, which I took with reluctance. I'd always hated guns. Never had I dreamed that I'd be picking one up...

...and being expected to use it.

"That's an old model of the sabers we use in PSICOM." She said. "That model doesn't have a gun installed in it. It was the lightest weapon I could get. It slices though, so don't swing it around so much. That pistol is favored by military snipers throughout PSICOM and SOLDIER. It holds more bullets than an average gun, its lightweight, and its made with the most durable material to date." Lightning pointed to my new sword with her finger. "Short range," She pointed to the gun. "Long range. Switch between them. Learn how to use them. They'll save your life. And when worse comes to worse, Dont. Drop. The gun."

I gave Lightning an unamused look.

"I can't teach you how to use them on a boat, and nobody on this boat is supposed to see those. If they do, the security will wonder where you got it from."

"Where DID you get it fr-"

"Don't worry about it."

Lightning reached down the crate one more time and revealed a fresh new set of apparel, grouped together with a sheath and a gun holster. "You should change those clothes. For coverup's sake." She said.

"...Thank you." I said flatly.

Lightning sighed and pushed up off the wall. "Snow's idea." She said simply as she left the room and closed the door behind her. I turned my attention to the clothes and accessories that were lying on the crate in front of me. I slowly picked up and examined the gun holster. Aside from the ones I'd seen on policemen, I'd never seen them anywhere else; In my possession was sure as hell not one place I'd ever imagined to find one.

_(2.)_I spread the clothes out on the crate and admired them. They were less revealing than the ones I was wearing now, _and_ they were still cute.

I then placed my new sword in the sheath and put the pistol in its holster. I had to admit, with these new clothes on I felt like a boss. As I walked out of the cargo room and back up the stairs to my cabin, I felt a light air of relief. I'd almost forgotten about the big operation tomorrow.

Almost.

* * *

As expected, I didn't sleep well that night. I woke up several times to nightmares involving my parents, firing squads, and lots of...blood. Everytime I woke up to calm myself down and forced myself back to sleep, the dream would just come back. Everytime it did, it was 10 times worse that the last one. I must've gotten at most about two and a half hours of undisturbed sleep. Not once when I woke up was I ever back in my room however.

Sunlight made its way into my room through the small, circular windows cut into my cabin wall. The sunlight disturbed my eyes, eventually waking me up for the last time. I looked around the room, dazed. When my eyes drifted onto the desk in the corner however, there was my sword and gun right where I'd left it the previous night. I buried my face in my hands and shook my head. In the pit of my stomach and swelling up in my heart was an overwhelming feeling of crushing disappointment Three days in the Land of the Unknown, and I was already homesick. I wanted to see my little brother's face again...

**Knock. Knock. Knock.**

I pretended to ignore it.

"Winter?" Yuna's voice chimed from the opposite side of the door. "Lightning and Snow are waiting for you on the deck. We're about 30 minutes to arrival."

My heartbeat quickened, and I put my hands over my ears. "This is NOT real." I repeated to myself. "This is NOT real!"

"Winter?" Yuna called again. "Are you awake?"

I remained quiet, hoping that she'd just go away. That it'd all go away. They'd reach land and walk off the boat without me. I would just lie here in my bed and repeat those words to myself until I was SO convinced that this was all just an illusion that no power in hell nor heaven would EVER convince me otherwise.

The door opened then. Yuna stepped into the room, and her eyes shot directly towards me.

"Oh, Winter!" She said cheerily. "You're awake! You didn't answer..." She crossed the room over to where I was sitting against my headboard, with my hands clasped over my ears.

"What's wrong?" She asked when she was near me. "Are you in pain?"

"I'm not leaving this room." I said firmly.

Yuna tilted her head, confused. "What do you mean? Why not? Are you sick?"

"I'm perfectly fine. And I'd like to remain that way as long as possible." I answered.

Yuna was quiet for a few moments. She sat on the bed next to me and placed her hands in her lap.

"...Are you scared?" She asked, looking at me with a saddened expression. "Winter...You know you can't stay on the boat. What Lightning said was true. I've seen it happen too."

"I don't care." I said stubbornly. "I get on the boat, I'm dead. I leave the boat, I'm still dead. Its lose-lose either way, so I'm just going to stay here. I never asked for this..."

"None of us did, Winter." Yuna had such a pitiful look on her face that I couldn't help but feel guilty for my attitude. "I can understand why you're worried...I am too. But I want to go. I have to go. I have people who are counting on me, just like Lightning and Snow do."  
"So do I," I said. "I've got a family to live for, Yuna."

Yuna grinned half-heartedly and looked down at the bedsheets. "You're lucky then, Winter. Biological families are a blessing that has been taken away from us now. The people that we depend on are our family, because we're all we have."  
My mind immidiately flashed back to Ansei.

_"Everyone in this city is like family. During times of trouble we cling together because we're all we have. We depend on each other..."_

"You haven't yet experienced the terrible evil that Shinra and the Sanctum have brought into this world. That's why you're afraid. Once they've taken something precious from you, you'll have two choices: You can let them have it or take it back. Shinra has robbed us of so much...so what I have left; what I can hold on to...I'm going to take it back."

Yuna's eyes shone with unwavering determination that I had never seen before on a person's face. She was right. It explained the whole reason that the four of them were on this voyage. All four of these people, Lightning, Snow, Yuna and Kimahri were long past the stage of cowering back in a corner, or praying for things to get better. Prayer takes faith and yet...faith is backed up with actions.  
I didn't know what to say. I'd taken my hands off my ears and let them hang limply at my sides. Yuna stood up then, and walked over to my desk. She picked up my sword with both hands and examined it. She stared at her own reflection in its shining metal, and then turned around to walk back to me.

"I know it isn't my place to ask something for such a huge favor of someone I met only yesterday, but please."

Yuna got on her knees and held the sword up for me to take.

"If I had been able to do something like this by myself, I wouldn't have bothered to ask. I am pleading with you as a comrade, and on Rikku and Tidus' behalf, to please, please help me." She looked up at me, her eyes meeting mine. "I put it on the grave of Wakka, Lulu, Auron and my father that I will not let any harm come to you. I promise."

It took that much for me to realize what I selfish coward I'd been.

I stared sadly at Yuna, debating with my conscience on what to do.

"She's just a heartbroken stranger with larger than life ambitions. Don't follow suit, or she'll lead you to your grave!"

"Someone you just met yesterday has pleaded with you and put your safety on her loved one's graves. Even if you can't do much, do what you can. If this is truly a dream, then no harm will come to you anyway, right?"

I swung my legs over the bedside and stood up, taking the sword by its handle and putting it in my sheath.

"I'm sorry...that I made you beg." I said solemnly. "I can't do much...But I'll do what I can." A grimace formed across my lips.  
Yuna's eyes sparkled with hope when she heard what I'd say. She stood up on her two feet and bowed. "Words will never express my heartfelt gratitidude." She smiled.

* * *

After collecting my pistol, Yuna and I left the cabin and made our way to the deck. I remember feeling a strange feeling in my stomach as I slowly closed the door and heard it click shut. It wasn't fear...but I couldn't pinpoint it exactly.

Lightning, Snow, and Kimahri were waiting for us at the ship's bow. When he saw us coming, Snow smiled. "Glad you made it!" He cheered, giving me such a powerful slap on the back that I stumbled forward. Lightning's expression remained impassive. She fixed her gaze on Yuna and I, although she didn't say anything as usual. Kimahri joined Yuna, standing behind her as he always had been.  
"WE'RE GETTIN' READY TO LAND 'ER!" The captain's deep voice bellowed above all of the deck's usual commotion. Eager people rushed over to the side railings to get a view of their destination, which was now in plain sight. The previous low voices of casual conversation had risen into excited chatter. From our place on the ship's bow, all five of us took in the sight of the high-rise buidlings strewn all over the mainland.

"You ready, guys?" Snow asked, his eyes locked on the sight before him.

"I was born ready." Lightning said.

"We are." Yuna nodded.

"As I'll ever be..." I whispered.

The city of New Midgar loomed overhead, welcoming its passengers and refugees with a deceptively warm and sinister "hello."

* * *

_**The Military City looms overhead.**_

_**How will Winter React to her first mission? **_

_**Stay tuned for the next chapter! It's the one you've all been waiting for!**_

_**...Up to this point anyway.**_

* * *

_**Chapter Notes:**_

_**1.) "eroge" for anyone whose not exactly tight with anime lingo (or japanese in general, which I highly doubt it you're reading this in the first place) is porn. **_

_**2.) I drew out an outfit for her, but it was too detailed for me to describe, so I really got lazy here in the description. If you feel like using your imagination, you can draw an outfit for her and put it up for me to see C=. It'll make the story more interesting for you if you picture the main character in clothes you created. **_

* * *

**_**Happy Easter and April Fools Day everyone!_**

**_**Thank you all for reading this far. Please leave a review. I'll give you a cookie =D_**

**_**To Anonymous - Honestly, I was just trying to think of an exotic sounding name for her. I didn't know it was a real name! Thanks for your comment!_**

**-Kamikimmy13**


	9. Chapter 8 - Team of Seven

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

The ship reached the dock 20 minutes later. Dockhands and crewmates began setting up the gangplank while other sailors helped the captain herd passengers out of the cabins below deck. Soon, everything was all set up and ready, and people were making their way off of the boat. Lightning ordered all of us to stay together, and leave with the last of the passengers. I did what she said without any complaint or resistance. I was so nervous that my legs had turned to jelly. The just moved without my consent and did whatever Lightning said.

Yuna led us once we were on the deck. "We arranged to meet at the shipyard." She said whilst we stood amongst the busy port, looking lost. "We're at Port D, now." Snow said, glancing down at the scribbles on the boardwalk.

"Okay, then the shipyard is just up ahead." Yuna had a determined expression now as she advanced forward through the crowd, the rest of us following close behind her, pushing and shoving our way through the masses.

"Did you have a certain time you were supposed to meet?" Lightning asked.

"2:30." Yuna replied. "The execution is going to be televised at 4:30."

Lightning nodded. "We're 15 minutes early." She stole a quick glance at an enourmous clock that had been mounted on a pillar overlooking the entire dock. "Just as I'd planned." Yuna grinned.

The dock was relatively small compared to the size of the city and the overwhelming shiploads of people entering it. We found the shipyard quickly without any need for directions. It was nearly empty when we got there save for a few sailors and tourists. We stood near a large passenger ship then and waited.

"...So...what do the people that we're meeting look like...?" I asked awkwardly after 5 minutes of silence.

"One of them has spiky, blond hair." Yuna said. "When I last saw him, he was wearing a SOLDIER uniform. I was worried, but he's a good person. The other person was a woman with long, black hair and red eyes. She was also very sweet. She took care of me when we were in Luca..." Her voice trailed off into the background. I caught a glimpse of Snow looking at her with a look of what seemed like remorse. Lightning too. I wasn't sure what those glances meant, but it had nothing to do with me so I decided not to ask.

"Oh." I said quietly. "Okay, I'll keep a lookout." Yuna nodded.

10 minutes went by and I didn't see a blond man or raven-haired woman.

10 more minutes went by, and stilll nobody had come.

...15 minutes passed...

...20 minutes passed...

...30 minutes passed...

The hour-hand was nearing the '3', and Yuna started to worry.

"...Maybe...SOLDIER got to them..." She said, her face falling.

"Don't say that." Snow shot Yuna an assuring grin. "I'm sure that they probably hit traffic or somethin."

"Traffic for an hour and a half?" Lightning asked impatiently.

"In a city like this, why not? It could happen."

"Or maybe SOLDIER really did get to them." I mumbled, my voice barely audible.

All four of them looked at me, surprised at what I'd said. At blinked at myself and hung my head down, trying to figure out where that rediculous outburst had come from.

"Or maybe...M-maybe they're right over there!" I pointed to a random spot on the shipyard and smiled nervously. Everyone turned their heads then, and Yuna's face lit up. "It's them!" She said happily. Shocked, I stood on my tiptoes and tilted my head to get a better view.

Three people were walking towards us now. Two of them fit the description that Yuna had given. The one in the middle, walking ahead of the two men behind her was a young lady who had to be at least 20. Her hair was more of a near-black shade of brown like mine rather than black. It was long and reached down to her lower-back, worn out in a casual style. Her eyes were red as Yuna had claimed, but what really caught my eye about her was her clothes. She was wearing a black outfit made up of a zip-up vest, a white undershirt, black shorts with a utility pocket flap folding in front, shoes that looked to like a generic version of Converse, and a duster trailing behind her, reaching down to her heels.

The blond guy had blue eyes that just seemed somber and disturbed. He was wearing a high collar, no-sleeve shirt, black pants and boots, and a black cloth hanging over his left leg and his arm. He wore a single pauldron on his right shoulder and had two straps criss-crossing his chest, held in place with some kind of badge. The first thing that came to my mind when I saw him was "Guardian." He looked like and carried himself like one.

But the third one was a monster of a man. He had to be at least 6 feet tall and his raven black hair flowed down his back. He wore a bandana and a red cloak which had a beat up, tattered cape attached to it that reached just down to just barely above the ground. His clothes were black and decorated with belts and buckles. On his feet were pointed platoon shoes that I had never seen before. He too had a gun holster strapped to his leg. His eyes were blood red and cold. The man looked like a vampire. Or some kind of reversed Knight in Shining Armor maybe. While they were walking towards us, his eyes met mine. He'd caught me staring.

I slowly turned to face the ship behind me. It's paint was just so...white today.

The three approached us. The woman smiled at Yuna, ran to her and gave her a big hug. From my peripheral vision, I couldn't help but notice the size of her breasts. They were huge. I looked down at my own breasts and poked one, then compared it to hers. "_Absolutely no comparison_." I thought, narrowing my eyes and beginning to sulk.

"Yuna!" The girl was saying. "I'm so sorry that we're late! I TOLD Cloud to ask for directions, but he doesn't listen to me." She shot an "I-told-you-so" look at the blond guy, who remained straight faced. He reached up and awkwardly scratched his neck. "Traffic." He said simply.

Snow nudged Lightning, who just rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm just relieved that you're here miss...miss Tifa. I brought backup with me." Yuna said, stepping to the side to reveal Lightning, Snow and I.

The three looked us over. "Why hello!" Tifa held her hand out to Snow who took it firmly and shook it. "My name is Tifa. Tifa Lockheart. AVALANCHE member." Snow grinned. "Snow Villers." He replied. "Leader of NORA." Tifa and the blond guy's eyes flashed with surprise. The vampire remained stoic.

"Cloud Strife." The blond guy said, shaking Snow's hand. "Ex-Shinra SOLDIER."

I noticed Lightning shiver.

She reluctantly held her hand out to Cloud, who was examing her with a hard stare, as if he'd seen her on the street somewhere and was trying to recall her face.

"Lightning Farron." She said unenthusiatically. "Ex-PSICOM Soldier, first class." Cloud nodded slowly. "Nice to meet you!" Tifa chimed.

Yuna turned to the vampire and smiled. "I don't believe we've met before." She said. "My name is Yuna. I'm a summonder from Besaid."  
The vampire's eyes moved, but the rest of him didn't. He studied Yuna quickly with an unsoulful expression.

"Vincent Valentine." He finally said. His voice was deep and serious, and had a frigidness too it.

_"Valentine is such a sweet name for a someone who looks so scary..."_ I thought, glancing at his emotionless face from the sides of my eyes. As soon as my thought finished, he looked at me again, this time with slightly narrowed eyes. I stopped thinking, now convinced that he could read minds.

Yuna bowed politely. "It is an honor to meet you. Thank you for coming to assist me."

Vincent nodded. But he was still glaring at me.

I turned back to ship, conveniently noticing a smidge in its paint.

Tifa followed Vincent's eyes until they rested on me, who was trying to her best to no avail to not be noticed. She smiled when she saw me.

"Hello!" She said.

I gulped. "Hi..."

"Shy are you? Don't worry, we're nice." Tifa said, holding her hand out to me. I took and loosely shook it.

"I'm Tifa." She said.

"Winter." I replied.

"Where are you from?"

"Shibu-"

"She's an orphan that we found back in New Braska." Lightning quickly cut me off. "She can't fight worth a damn so don't be surprised if something goes wrong."

_"Bitch."_ I thought, shooting Lightning the evil eye.

"Then wouldn't it make more sense if we leave her here, and come back later?" Cloud asked.

"Please. She'll probably turn herself in." Lightning scoffed.

"Don't worry about it, I'll be watching over her." Yuna said, coming to my rescue. "So it's alright if she comes with us...at least...for me..."

I smiled at her, grateful for a friend.

"And I'll keep an eye on her too." Snow added. "Just in case."

"If the introductions are over," Vincent interupted. "It's almost time for an execution."

Lightning, Snow, Tifa, Cloud, Vincent and Yuna all looked at each other and nodded.

"He's right. We need to leave now." Cloud said. "Cid's waiting with Shera in Juno-Sankrea. We take a train there, we'll be there in no time."

"Sounds like a plan." Yuna smiled.

"We'll discuss the mission plans in further details on Shera." Tifa said. "For now, let's get going!" The group began walking then, heading out of the shipyard and getting ready to enter the city. I ran to catch up to the group, and trailed behind them as they went.

* * *

The city was modern, like a late 90s version of New York City. There were ordinary buses and vans and cars crowding the streets, as well as shops, pollution, and people within every inch of breathable space. PSICOM guards were patrolling the streets in groups, and other armed guards in blue uniforms were standing on street corners alone. In a city like this, even the most notorious of criminals could find cover. While I pondered this, Lightning's words entered my mind:

_"This boat is heading to New Midgar. Its the most heavily guarded area in the world, almost ninety-five percent populated with personnel from PSICOM, SOLDIER, and their informants." _

That to me, was in indirect warning meaning: "Trust no one." I'd been taking it especially seriously now, and it was starting to make me paranoid. Whenever my eyes met with someone elses, it startled me and made my heart race, followed by pressing questions.

_"Is that a Shinra informant?"_  
_"Is he secretly with SOLDIER?"_  
_"He MUST be a PSICOM guard!"_

_The truth was that literally every person I made eye contact with was either a Shinra employee in the military or the company, a Sanctum government worker, a PSICOM soldier, or a Shinra/Sanctum informant. Everyone. Even the people that had been on the boat with us were at least one of those. _

I didn't know that however.

The New Midgar station looked a lot like Grand Central station in New York, only a little less amazing. The 8 of us made our way over to the ticket booth once we'd entered through the spinning glass doors. Tifa and Vincent approached the booth, and the smiling brunette manning it turned pale when she saw the Vampire approaching. Snow had left with Cloud to go to the information booth and get a train schedule, Yuna was with Kimahri, looking at a map of the train station, and Lightning had instructed me to get a map of the city.  
I begrudgingly did as she said.

I didn't have the slightest idea where to get one. I checked the information booth, but they weren't being distributed there for some reason. I wandered around the main lobby, looking like a lost puppy. I kept turning around to make sure that the group hadn't left without me. Lightning was sitting on a bench underneath the electronic map of the train station. She sat with her legs crossed and had her ice-blue eyes locked on me, just waiting to pounce once I'd screwed something up. A tall man with blue hair approached her then with two of his friends, and sat next to her. They were trying to speak to her, but she was only semi-involved in their conversation. She was watching me closely stalking my every move. I sighed and rolled my eyes. It would definitely test my patience, but until I found my family again, I'd just have to put up with her.

I walked around until I finally found a stand in the very back corner of the lobby, which was surrounded by a moderately sized crowd. There was a large, blinking sign above the stand, its message written in chicken scratch. I stared at it, confused. People were coming and going from the crowd with several papers and brochures in their hand, but none of them looked like maps. Depressed, I turned back around, ready to move on to the next corner, when I bumped heads with someone.

"AYE!" I yelped, recoiling from the sharp pain.

The victim was a young man perhaps two or so years older than me. He had a nice face I realized once I'd snapped out of it. He was holding his head in pain also, but when he saw me, he smiled.

"I'm so sorry." He said apologetically.

My heart sped up. "It's okay!" I said in a high-pitched voice. "I wasn't looking! Clumsy me!" I smiled dumbly.

"Are you lost?" He asked, putting his hand into his pocket.

"Um...kinda." I admitted, holding my hands behind my back.

"Travelling alone, hm?"

"Not exactly." I smiled.

The boy nodded. "If you need any help, my friends and I are over there. We just got to the city on vacation. The place is nice." He said, nodding to a group of boys loitering by a window. I wasn't gonna lie, all his friends looked good.

"What brings you to New Midgar?" He asked sweetly.

"Oh! Um...Travelling...To see family...!" I lied.

"Oh yeah? That's cool, where do they live?"

I blinked.

"Ummm...theeey...dieed...?" I said slowly, thinking of a story on the spot. "They're supposed to come get me and take me to the funeral. They forgot to give me the address."

_"IDIOT."_ I mentally slapped myself for such a terrible alibi.

"That's cool." He smiled. "Why don't you come wait with us? A pretty girl like you shouldn't just be standing around by herself. There are all kinds of psychos in this city."

I didn't have time for that. I took another look at his friends by the window, and then glanced at the spot where Lightning had been sitting. She was gone. Snow and Cloud weren't at the information booth, Yuna and Kimahri were nowhere to be seen, and Tifa and Vincent had left the ticket stand. I scanned the place, but I didn't see them anywhere. I sighed. Maybe they'd decided that leaving me in the city would just be for the best after all. They could've at least told me the plan though...

I didn't realize how sad I looked until the boy addressed it.

"You okay?" He asked.

I nodded bitterly.

The boy took my hand in his and stepped towards the window. "We're all nice, don't worry." He assured me with a warm grin and proceeded to pull me towards his friends. My feet move involuntarily as I followed him, not knowing what else to do.

A hand grab my shoulder and squeezed it. Hard.

The boy and I turned around at the same time to see Lightning glaring down at us. The boy, clearly smitten by her, let go of my hand.

"What the hell are you doing?" She asked me rather curtly.

"Is that your sister?" The boy asked me.

"Like hell she is." I mumbled.

"I wasn't talking to myself." She interupted.

"I was looking for your stupid map!" I shot back.

The boy took a nervous step backwards. "Ah, sorry." He apologized. "I thought she was waiting for someone, so I asked her to wait with us. You know, so she wouldn't get approached by someone weird."

Lightning rolled her eyes. "The accidental run-in is the oldest pickup trick in the book. We have to go now, so say 'bye bye.'" She said firmly with an added finger wave.

The boy nodded and walked away dejectedly.

"...You didn't have to be so mean." I said to her once he'd retreated back to his friends.

"Mean? Don't be ridiculous. I can't believe you were about to run off with some loser you just met in a train station in the middle of something so important. You need to shape up."

"Leave me alone!" I yelled. "Next time just get your own bleeding map!"

Lightning's eyes flashed with shock at my tone. However, she got over it quickly and shot me an evil look. "I'm not your classmate." She hissed. "Don't you dare talk to me like that."

I pouted and crossed my arms, glowering at the floor tiles like a rejected 6-year-old in the candy section.

She turned around and pointed to the sign on the stand I'd passed by earlier-The one with the huge blinking sign written in gibberish. "Do you know what that says?" She asked.

A wave of panic washed over my face. I squinted at the sign hoping that there would be some kind of clue as to its meaning, but I was at a loss. It was just scribbles. Too tinted to blush, I looked away from the sign in shame and said nothing.

"It says 'map.'" Lightning said, making me snap my head back to the sign in realization. "You can't read, can you?"

"Of course I can!" I said defensively. "Just...not in this place..."

Lightning sighed. "Perfect."

She took a folded map out of her pocket and held it out for me to take. "...Don't tell me you had this the whole time!" I shrieked, snatching the map from her hands and examining it. "I got it from Snow back on the boat." She said. "But I was suspicious..."

She walked away, towards the train terminal. I saw Snow leaning against the wall, waiting for us. I looked over my shoulder at the group of boys who were still at the window. The one with the nice face met my eyes, smiled at me, and waved goodbye. I grimaced and waved back, running to catch up with Lightning. The others were already waiting by the train tracks.

"The train's gonna be here any minute now." Snow said to us as wheels thundered against the tracks somewhere off in the distance.

"Great." Lightning said.

Snow and Lighting engaged in conversation while I took a seat on a bench next to Tifa and Cloud. Cloud was lost in thought.  
Tifa smiled at me when I sat down. I smiled back, to be polite.

"So, Winter," Tifa began, attempting to strike up a friendly conversation. "What was your hometown like?"

"...Very...hot...?" I said awkwardly. I'd never been good socially.

Tifa nodded and let out a laugh. "Obviously! New Braska's a desert, right?"

"Yup." I agreed.

"How did those two find you if you don't mind me asking?" She continued.

"They saved me from a monster in the desert." I said.

"You mean an Invalet?"

"Are all monsters called Invalets?" I asked.

"Yeah, pretty much." Tifa nodded.

"Oh. Then, yes. I was rescued from an Invalet."

The train pulled up then, coming to a deafening, screeching halt. "ALL ABOARD FOR JUNO-SENKREA, PLEASE BOARD THE TRAIN NOW."  
Tifa tapped Cloud on the shoulder, pulling him out of dreamland. "That's us." She responded to his confused face, nodding to the train.  
All 8 of us hopped on board and sat down in the same train car. The cars looked like buses on the interior, organized in rows with the seats facing forward rather than facing each other. Each pair or trio of seats had a table in front of it. Yuna and Kimahri manned a two seater towards the front of the car. Tifa, Cloud and Vincent squeezed into a three seater to the left of Yuna and Kimahri. It was funny to watch because Vincent's legs were too long, and he had to settle for an uncomfortable looking position sandwiched between Tifa and Cloud. It was the same for Lightning, Snow and I. I hadn't realized it before, but Snow was 6'4. He slid into the seat with greater dificulty than Vincent did. I was the smallest, so Lightning had me sit between her and him.

The train started moving 3 minutes later. It started of veeeery, very slow, but in a matter of minutes it had sped up to just under the speed of sound. I'd ridden the bullet train in Japan several times before, but it hadn't felt anything like this!

I found myself staring in awe out of the window with childish excitement along with the other young children on the train. I had to strain my neck past Snow's bulky exterior to get a decent view, but it was worth it. For a place crawling with our enemies, the New Midgar cityscape was just beautiful. It reminded me of Tokyo, making me suddenly nostalgic.

Despite the city's coherent beauty, I was still dead tired. For a mission as dire as this one, I was in no shape to participate. I realized this the first time I felt myself nod off to sleep. I tried to keep myself occupied with the scenery, but the nodding became more frequent. Soon, I was flowing in and out of sleepy consciousness. The last thing I heard were Lightning and Snow's hushed tones describing "Operation Zero" in code language, and then there was silence.

_Sweet Silence..._

* * *

**DOOMSDAY IS NEARING! IT'S ABOUT TO GO. DOWN.**

**STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER OF "****_White Snow Dimensia!"_**

* * *

**Writer's comments:**

****WOOT! Hooray for FF7 characters! I'm going to try my best to pinpoint their character personalities. I didn't play FF7, but I watched a couple of clips. I DID watch Advent Children, however. Cloud seemed to have a darker persona in AC than in FF7 in my opininon, correct me if I'm wrong. **

****It's about to GO DOWN. **

****What do you think of the story so far? R&R!**

**** Lightningpanda Thank you! I'm glad you like it! I worked really hard trying to scheme up a decent-sounding plot and a sensible way to combine the worlds.I'm quite proud of the result if I do say so myself. LOL, Winter could use a good slap, I agree! =D**

**-Kamikimmy13**


	10. Chapter 9 - Chaos Strikes!

_Quick Note: I don't usually put up two chapters in a day, but I was so excited for this chapter that I just had to._

_edit _

_i meant to warn you that theres mention of blood and possibly distubing context in the last few paragraphs. if that stuff makes your skin crawl then it would be best for you to skip over it. sorry to make the story turn graphic. i hate blood too but i think that the violence is necessary to convey the tone of the story. thank you for bearing with me._

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

**_"AAAAAHHHAAAAHHHHHH!"_**

_Mom and dad came racing into my room, seconds after I'd let out the deafening scream. Dad was still in his work-clothes, soon to be heading back out again to attend a meeting with his boss. Mom was armed with a frying pan. She'd left my room only minutes earlier to go down and prepare omelet-rice for dinner, and now she had returned, frightened and confused. _

_"Winter! What in the sam-hell is happening here?!" Mom shrieked. _

_"It's Sumire-chan!" I shrieked, pointing at my computer screen. She's coming back to Japan tomorrow!"_

_Katakura Sumire and I had gone through the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth grade together practically joined at the hip. We were the troublesome kids that gave the kindergarden teachers headaches during our early days, until we'd gradually grown up into the class-president and vice-president material of the school. _

_By the end of the sixth grade, Sumire's father decided that he would be getting remarried to an Australian woman. She didn't know how to speak the language for the life of her, and Sumire had always wanted to travel, so Sumire's father decided to pack up and head to Australia. Now, in the seventh grade she would be coming back for a week while her father was here on a temporary business venture. She was only going to be in the Shibuya area for tomorrow, and she'd taken the times to send me an e-mail about it, and I just could not contain my excitement. _

_"Can I go see her tomorrow?!" I begged my parents. _

_Mom sighed and put her pan down. "You gave me a heart-attack just for that?!" _

_"Of course you can see her." Dad said. "But I have a meeting tomorrow, so I-"_

_"I know, I know." I interupted dad. "You can't drive me. I'll ask her to meet me at Noburi Park so I can take the bus, how's that sound?"_  
_"...We'll have to discuss it." Dad said quietly. _

XOXO

_Mom put up a fight on my behalf to convince my dad that I was old enough to get on a bus on my own. The result? I was sitting on the bus the day day armed with my cell-phone and a "rape whistle", at the request of my father. If anyone suspicious approached me, I would have to blow the whistle and call the police immidiately. I thought the idea was kind of funny, so I didn't protest. _

_I stepped into Noburi Park at exactly 2:00 that Sunday. It was a frigid September afternoon. I was nestled into a cozy, mid-weight jacket, a skirt with thick, black leggings and comfortable boots, and a scarf. I had stayed up for hours last night tossing clothes around, trying to decide on an outfit. Everything had to be perfect for Sumire. _

_I walked across the park, passing the older couples and teenagers on my way to the meeting spot. Eventually, after nearly getting lost, I finally found the place. In a remote area of the park where people hardly seemed to come across, on top of a hill, near a huge willow tree. It was the last place we'd been together before she left last year, and it was only fitting that we meet here today. _

_I finally made it up the hill, breathless. When I got there, Sumire was waiting for me. Her raven baclk hair was longer now, and fell down past her shoulder blades. She was wearing jeans, a light coat, fingerless gloves and converse sneakers, on her face face she wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses. I was almost afraid to approach her for a minute. I was scared that this wasn't the Sumire I knew...that she had somehow changed. But her sweet brown eyes still had that familiar feel in them when she saw me coming and smiled. Before I could even reach the girl, she was running down the hill at breakneck speed-nearly breaking MY neck when she crashed into me with a hug and sent us both rolling down the hill. _

XOXO

_"So, how's school going for you?" I asked my friend as we sat comfortably underneath the willow tree. Sumire pushed her glasses up onto her nose and tilted her head in thought. "Pretty good. It's different there." She said. "Do you like your school?" I asked. _  
_"Yeah...it's fun. I've made a few friends." _

_"Oh, that's good." I said happily. Deep down however, I felt a sting of jealousy and sadness. _  
_"How's school going for you?" She asked me afterwards._

_"Fine. I'm still the President. We're planning some activities to re-invigorate the school." _  
_"That's great!" _

_"Yeah...Keiichi still misses you." I added. _

_"That boy was a clown. And a stalker." _

_The both of us burst into loud laughter. Here, we could laugh as loud as we wanted without being told that it wasn't proper. That's how it had always felt with Sumire. Even if we were in a library, being with her made me feel free. I didn't even realize how much I'd missed her being with me all the time until this very moment, when we were laughing with nobody else around. _

_When the laughing died down, Sumire spoke again. "...But to be totally honest, I don't like all of this change." She said. _  
_"What do you mean?" I asked. _

_"...Well, Dad's remarried...I moved...I'm going to be 13 soon...everything's just changing so suddenly..."_  
_I meditated on that for a bit, the both of us sitting in silence, acknowleging the truth of her words as we recalled the last few years of our short lives. Things were changing at a truly alarming pace. Even I would be moving to America soon... _

_"But, that's why I like you, Winter." Sumire finally said, penetrating the silence. "Because you never change." _

_"...Huh?"_

_"You've been the same way since I first met you in kindergarden." She smiled. "Still that quiet, careful girl you were..." _

_"And you're still the loud and blissfully carefree one that gets us into trouble." I grinned._

_"Yep!" Sumire agreed. "And I'm not gonna change. I don't ever want to change."_

_"...I don't want you to change either."_

_"And I don't want YOU to change. We should just stay this way...so we can be friends no matter what happens." _

_"I won't change if you won't."_

_"Well I'm staying just the way I am."_

_"Good." I smiled. "Then I will too."_

* * *

A ruby red pair of pumps clip-cloped their way down the metal mesh floors of a narrow hallway. Two armed SOLDIER guards with machine guns followed after these heels, as a puppy followed its master. A sinister smirk spread farther across her lips the closer she got to the door at the corridor's end. She happy today particularly, but then again, who wouldn't be? How many people were lucky enough to get a front seat to the watch the death of their most hated enemies everyday?

Oh, right! She was. And today was just another one of those days.

The soundproof room lie just ahead straight ahead, the room housing Midgar's most wanted. In only a few hours, they would all be a thing of the past. Just before placing her hand on the fingerprint scanner that would open the captive's door, she turned to the two young soldiers behind her with the same plastered smirk.

"Smile boys," She hissed. "Today is a wonderful day. Don't forget to wish our prisoners a pleasant trip to the lifestream."  
The boys saluted the woman. "YES, GENERAL SELENIUM SIR!" They shouted.

Satisfied, the woman turned on her heel and put her hand on the DNA scanner. A miniscule light quickly processed her skin data, and within seconds, the door was open. She regally invited herself in, mentally reminding herself to maintain her poise and grace.

When she entered, all the eyes in the room turned towards her. Nobody jumpped, nobody breathed. They all knew why she was there.  
A girl nestled in the corner of her cell with melon-colored hair gasped when she entered, and her fear spread across her face. Another girl in the cell across from hers' eyes grew wide. She glared at the woman then, just about ready to growl. The boy in the cell next to hers had on the same begrudged expression, with looks that could kill. Lying in a cage towards the back was a beast with abnormally colored fur. It raised its head when the woman entered, and lowered it back after seeing who it was, abhorred with the sight. A burly, dark-skinned man in the cell across from the beast glared at her as well, ready to spit out every foul word he could think of.

"Well, well, well." Selenium said as she strolled down the isle, the prisoners watching her every move, save for the beast who could not stand the sight of her. "Good afternoon my little misfits...my societal garbage...my...dead men walking..."She caught the eye of the melon haired girl and tilted her head with false remorse. "And women, excuse me." She corrected herself.

"GO AWAY!" The girl in the cell across from the pink-haired girl shouted out. "I HATE YOU!"

Selenium let out a genuine, hearty laugh at the blond girl's outburst. "My, How rude!" She exclaimed once her laughter had settled down. "I only came to wish my favorite prisoners and amiable farewell!" She wiped a tear from her eye and flicked the moisture onto the ground. "From me and all the staff at Shinra," Her eyes fell on the two captives in the back. "As well as the Sanctum." She said, turning to the melon-haired girl. She stared back at her with an undecipherable expression.

"They're coming." She said to Selenium. "You'll see."

"YEAH!" The blond girl chimed in. "Any minute now, Yunnie and Kimahri will BUST through this door and we're all gonna GET YOU!"

"And if they don't," The sandy-haired boy next to her added. "Then we'll bust outta here ourselves for sure!"

Selenium grinned and shook her head with amused disbelief.

"We know." She said. "And we'll be waiting, ready for them to come at any time-"

Suddenly, an ear-shattering alarm began blaring within the special holding cells and out in the hallway. An urgent-sounding voice blared from the intercom then, saying:

**"RED ALERT! RED ALERT! THERE'S BEEN A PRISON BREACH. THIS IS NOT A DRILL, I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"**

The SOLDIER guards who were with Selenium looked around wildly, their guns ready. A look of anticipation spread across her face as she spun around and walked silently out of the room.

"Here to play, are they? And so soon too." She lashed out her assault weapon of choice: A long, General's baton, and tapped it lightly against her palm as she walked calmly down the now blaring red corridor.

"I can't wait to see you again, Lightning." She smirked.

* * *

_Tap tap tap..._

"Pssst. Winter. We're here."

My eyes opened against my will very slowly and I took in the ceiling lights from the train. When I came-to a couple seconds later, the first thing I noticed was that we weren't moving. Lightning as well as everyone else in the train was standing up now. The second thing I noticed was that I'd been sleeping the whole time...on Snow's arm!

I jumpped, totally embarassed.

"Sorry." I said shamefully, adding a bow.

"Nah, don't worry about it." He grinned.

I mentally kicked myself for not getting enough sleep the night before, and slid out of the booth.

The new train deck was much darker and less opulent than the one at New Midgar. In fact, in the corners and on the benches of this deck, homeless people slept, gambled, and stared at the passengers as they got off the train. The place smelled like feet and vomit, there was garbage everywhere, and somewhere further down the terminal I heard the sound of several men exploding into an argument.

That beautiful city I'd just seen a minute ago...were we still there?

The others followed the crowd out of the terminal and I quickly scurried out along with them.

When we emerged, from the trash dump of a station, the sight we saw before us was not beautiful in any sense of the word. In short, it looked like we had just entered an inner-city slum in the heart of the poorest third-world country.

"Where...are we...?" I asked nobody in particular, taking in as much of the disheveled city as my eyes would allow.

"Juno-Sankrea." Snow answered.

"Sector Zero is half prison, half residency." Lightning said. "It's not a pretty place. Has the highest number of domestic crime rates in the world."

"It's like the criminals live here themselves." I murmured.

"Because they do." Lightning said plainly. "Sector Zero Prison is full to bursting with society's garbage. So sometimes the people who aren't on death-row or are sentenced to 30 years jail-time or less get thrown out here. Keep your weapons close, don't let your money show, and don't look anyone in the eyes. The people here hate tourists especially because in the end, they get to leave this place. They don't."

Our group began walking away from the train station. I stayed extra close to Snow, however I couldn't help but glance occasionally at the tortured souls who were staring back at us. I patted my gun holster every now and then to make sure I had my pistol with me. Not that I knew how to use it.

"Vincent, what time is it?" Cloud asked Vincent.

Vincent took out a cell phone to my surprise and flipped it open. "3:30." He said.

"Oh my!" Yuna exclaimed.

"We're running out of time." Lightning said as she shoved past an angry looking, bedraggled man. "Where are your friends?"

"This way," Tifa beckoned, ducking into an alleyway.

After what seemed like hours of twists and turns through alleyways that all looked the same, scouring over piles of garbage, and a trip through several deserted buildings, Tifa and Cloud finally led us through a secret tunnel disguised as a manhole where we emerged in an unsightly landfill at the end. The group was led further into the pile of garbage and junk, until Tifa and Cloud stopped in the middle of a clearing. Cloud took Vincent's cell-phone, glared at the time, and began dialing a number.

"Yeah?!" A not-to-pleasant-sounding husky voice blared from the other end of the line.

"We're here." Cloud said.

"Well it took ya'll long enough!"

There was a beep on the other end, followed by a moment of awkward silence. Then, the ground began shaking. Lightning, Snow, Yuna, Kimahri and I panicked and stumbled forward in an attempt to maintain balance. While the other three were more collected about this, I was freaking out.

"What's happening?!" Yuna asked, alarm in her voice.

"EARTHQUAKE!" I screamed. "QUICK!** DUCK IN COVER**!"

"Don't worry!" Tifa laughed, placing an assuring hand on my arm. "It's just Cid!"

The enormous mountain of junk began to topple over from the top down. Two propellers spinning at max speed revealed themselves at the top, followed by the enormous, rising mass of black metal and steel. Lightning, Snow, Yuna, Kimahri and I stopped staggering, and now stood with our feet planted firmly on the ground. We gazed upon the mighty aircraft with awe as it made its slow and graceful ascension. Soon, hovering a few-hundred feet above our heads was an aircraft-miniscule in size comparison to the one I'd seen Arsenic in, and much more plain. Yet, it was still the most amazing compilation of nuts and bolts I'd ever seen.

"Well if it ain't Cloud!" The voice from the phone shouted out to us over the sound of the rotors. "Ya'll gonna get on up her' er what?!"

* * *

We climbed up into the air vehicle via rope ladder, which horrified me to an all new extent. Despite Snow's encouraging words, on the way up I'd been so terrified that I'd started crying. The ship was hovering at least 12 stories off of the ground, and on the way up I kept entertaining the thought that the rope would suddenly snap and I'd fall to my death. Cloud was the first in the aircraft, and he helped me onboard. When he saw my tear-stained cheeks he looked surprised and confused, but didn't say anything about them.

"Heights..." I mumbled stupidly.

"I see." Cloud said.

"Please don't tell Lightning. Or Snow. Or anyone." I begged.

The blond ex-SOLDIER grinned. "I won't."

Once everyone had safely gotten on board (it had been a struggle especially for Yuna because of her skirt), the man with the accent introduced himself as Cid Highwind, whilst leading us to the cockpit of the aircraft, and blabbing about how proud he was of the Shera all the way there.

"She's a real beauty ain't she?!" He said to Snow, who was admiring the airship's interior.

"She looks great!" Snow nodded.

"Damn right she does!" The man agreed.

"What's this thing called?" I asked.

Vincent, Cloud, Tifa and Cid gave me questioning looks.

"The hell you mean what's it called?!" Cid asked. "Shera's just a reg'lar airship!"

"Airship..." I repeated.

"She's not from around here." Snow said.

I mentally facepalmed after he said that, realizing how suspect I'd just made myself sound.

"Just about evry'where's got an airship! Yer tellin' me that you don't know what a gatdamn airship is? Did you hit yer head 'er somethin?!"

I wasn't entirely sure, but I think I'd offended Cid in some way.

"As a matter of fact, she did." Lightning said. "Kid doesn't remember anything except her name."

"That's a damn shame. A gatdamn shame." Cid said. "You seem like a good bunch so I'll let you off this time. But don't you ask me no more dumb questions."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Like THAT!" Cid shot back.

I raised and eyebrow at him and pouted. I didn't like this "Cid" person.

"Are these here good folks friends of yers Cloud?" He asked Cloud.

"You could say that." Cloud replied.

Our group entered into the cockpit of the airship finally. It looked a little bit like the inside of a flight simulator game I'd played at "Chuck E' Cheese." The control panel wrapped around the circumference of the cockpit. There was a chair in front of the division of the control panel where the navigation gears were. In the center of the area was what looked like a domed round table. When I peaked inside, there was a map of what I assumed to be The World.

Cid sat in the pilots seat and pushed a lever, making the airship shoot forwards with a supersonic **BOOM**! When it was safe to walk around again, Cloud led us over to the round table and pulled up a holographic map of the world. He pressed a few buttons until there was an image of a scary looking building that looked like a cross between a prison and a castle with a moat and storm clouds overhead. I admired the holograph with childish curiosity, tilting my head in wonder at the realistic-looking clouds and simulated lightning.

"Here's a map of Sector Zero exterior." Cloud began. There's barbed wire and electric fences all around the ground area, and the only other way in is by a military submarine through an underwater tunnel. There are guards stationed 24/7 around the vicinity at all times."

"The prison's broken up into three sections." Tifa continued. Sections one and two are for law criminals. Section one's prisoners are all serving life-sentences or are on death-row. This building in the middle here is the "Special Victims Unit", made specifically for rebels. The normal prisons are here on the first, and second floors. The "Most Wanted" rebels are up here on the third floor. Shrina's head of domestic and foreign police are up here on the top floor, and the one for the Sanctum is directly under it."

"So Vanille and the others are on the third floor." Snow stated more than asked.

"Correct." Tifa said.

"But we'll be under too much detection if we try to go in from any way other than through the top floor." Lightning said.

"Right, so we were thinking that we should freefall onto the roof." Cloud said.

My ears perked up then, and not in the good way. He couldn't possibly have meant freefall. Like...without a parachute?

"The storm clouds are a perfect cover for _Shera_, so we were thinking that when the ship passes over this point," Cloud pointed to an area that looked like a balcony. "We should jump then. We'll land here, and break through the window. It should be directly connected to a hallway that leads to an elevator."

"And I know the way to the Special Victim's Prison." Lightning said. "So I'll take it from there."

"Sounds like a plan." Snow agreed.

Yuna nodded.

"Our timing needs to be perfect though." Tifa added. "If we jump too early we'll miss our target and end up in the water. If we jump too late, we might have to turn around and fly back to try and land it again, but by then it'll be too late."

"So when we get there, just go for it." Snow said.

"That's right!" Tifa agreed.

"Um," I interupted bashfully. "...How far will the distance be from the ship to the ground?"

"Let's see...It should be about 150 to 200 meters*."

I couldn't see it, but judging by everyone else's amused expressions, I knew my own had to be priceless.

"Is there a problem?" Lightning asked, knowing darn well what the problem was.

_"You're out of your damn mind if you think MY ass is gonna FREEFALL 200 meters to my death!"_ I wanted to scream.

Instead I said nervously: "That's a...long ways to freefall...!"

"No worries kiddo!" Snow chimed. "It'll be a piece a' cake!"

"So says the one with the transformer living in his arm." I mumbled.

"Hope ya'll 're ready!" Cid yelled. "Cuz we're going in!"

Cid jerked the lever backwards, causing the ship to dip slightly and quickly straighten back up.

"Come on!" Lightning ordered, racing out of the room and back towards the way we'd come.

I lagged behind like a condemned man on his way to the guillotine. I caught up with the group just as Lightning had slid open the door, revealing the clouds beneath our feet. Traces of pointed roofs peaked out of the clouds and loomed overhead. I braved myself to stand as close as I could to the door without getting too close to its edge. It was completely gray and the clouds were so thick that we couldn't see our landing point. My heart beat was beating so fast that I just knew the others could hear it. I stared in paralyzing fear at the open door, my body completely refusing to jump.

_"NO!"_ My conscience screamed. _"I WON'T DO IT! I WON'T!" _

"When we jump, you'd better not scream." Lightning warned, turning towards me. I opened my mouth to object, but she quickly cut me off.

"No you can't stay on the ship." She said.

I opened my mouth again.

"You're jumpping and that's final."

"GET READY!" Cid's voice boomed from over an intercom. "YOU HIT THE TARGET IN FIVE..."

Lightning, Cloud, Tifa, Snow, Vincent, Kimahri, and Yuna tensed up and prepared to leap.

"FOUR..."

I took a step back from the door very quietly, my legs wobbling uncontrolably. So much, that I made a dipping motion towards the ground before collecting my balance.

"THREE..."

Lightning put her hand on her blade.

"TWO..."

I started to whimper and felt water involuntarily start to fill my tear ducts.

"JUMP!"

Lightning and Cloud jumpped directly on cue, followed by Tifa and Snow. Yuna and Kimahri went next. My legs wouldn't move. I just couldn't bring myself to join them as I watched everyone else leave the ship and meteor towards the ground. _"I'll just wait here!"_ I thought to myself, taking a shy step away from the edge. _"No problems! They're better off without me ya know?! I'll just be a burden to them anyway!"_

Suddenly, I too was hurtling towards the Earth.

I had been pushed out of the plane without any warning. When I realized what was going on, I felt such a sudden rush of fear that the impulse to scream came quickly and involuntarily.

**"aaaaAAAAHHH-" **

My mouth was covered by a single, gloved hand, and through my peripheral vision I saw the graceful flutter of red fabric. The vampire had kicked me out of the airship! Literally!

We tore through the clouds, increasing in velocity the farther we fell. In the distance somewhere, thunder broke, followed by several streaks of lightning. The wind pressing against my chest made it hard for me to breath. For some reason, I kept my eyes open the entire time, although it was hard to see. Once we'd safely passed through the cloud barrier, the Sector Zero prison came into full view as well as our landing point.

Lightning reached out her hand and snapped her fingers. On the balcony, a forcefeild of gravity appeared. She and the others turned their bodies vertically then, preparing to land on their feet. All 8 of us landed in one of the forcefeilds, and came to a screeching halt-completely unharmed. Cloud hit the ground running, followed by the rest of us, me trailing behind because I was so traumatized, and with his giant sword he smashed through the two gothic-style stained glass windows overlooking the balcony. We leaped over the shattered glass and into a hallway, just as Cloud had predicted.

Several armed PSICOM guards were patrolling the area we'd crashed through and were shocked to see us enter in.

Tifa saw them up ahead and charged for them at full speed. When they started to shoot at her, she leaped into the air, and came down on one of the guards, punching him square in the face. It broke his visor and connected with his nose, causing him to fall back and writhe in pain. Lightning took this window of opportunity to shoot back at the guards with her gun-sword, joined by Vincent who began to spray them with revolver bullets. Snow ducked beneath the fire and charged towards the guards, ramming several of them against the wall, and making them drop their firearms. I watched the scene go on, unsure of what to do.

Guards from around the corner heard the commotion and came running over, opening fire as soon as they saw us.

"REFLECT!" Yuna yelled, putting her mage's staff forward. A honey-combed style sheild appeared in a burst of light, and all of the guards bullets ricocheted off of the sheild and went flying straight back towards them full force. Cloud and Kimarhi ducked around the sheild, and ran towards the remaining soldiers with their sword and lance.

The mini-battle was over in minutes, with several PSICOM and Blue-Clothed SOLDIER guards lying either dead, injured, or unconscious on the ground. I looked around, confused at how quickly it'd all ended, and guilty for not pitching in at all. The minute the heroes sheathed their weapons, an alarm broke our eardrums and blared loudly throughout the entire vicinity. I was terrified and confused, darting my head up and down the now blinking red hallway.

**"RED ALERT! RED ALERT! THERE'S BEEN A PRISON BREACH. THIS IS NOT A DRILL, I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"**

"We're screwed!" I yelled.

"Come on!" Lightning ordered, sprinting around the corner the latter PSICOM soldier group had appeared from. Everyone quickly ran after her, wasting no time, including me.

"I thought you said that balcony would be the place with the least detection!" Lightning yelled to Cloud over the noise.

"It is." Cloud replied. "They couldn't have spotted us so quickly. Someone beat us to it."

Lightning looked beyond confused.

"So what does that mean?!" Yuna asked.

"Our job just got a hell of a lot harder." The spikey-haired soldier said.

**"ALL MILITARY PERSONNEL, THIS IS NOT A DRILL, I REPEAT: THIS IS NOT A DRILL."**

We darted around a corner and came face to face with an entire blockade of armed guards. We saw them first, and stopped in our tracks.

"Shit!" Tifa cursed.

"We don't have time for this!" Lightning grunted impatiently, taking out her sword once more and sprinting ahead. She was joined by Cloud and Kimahri, who began taking out soldiers one by one, dodging bullets as they went. Vincent started shooting at them again, Tifa threw her herculean strength at them, Snow covered Yuna with a spell named "Steelguard" from stray bullets, and once again, I sat back confused, cowering behind Yuna unsure of what to do.

As soon as that group of guards had been disposed of, they were followed by another quickly approaching set of them.

Lightning sucked her teeth and sheathed her sword.

"We need to split up." She said.

"Right!" Snow agreed. "I'll hold the fort here and keep em busy."

"I'll stay with you!" Tifa offered.

"So will I!" said Yuna. So that automatically meant Kimahri was staying too.

Lightning nodded at Vincent and Cloud. "We'll all meet at the top floor." She said before the three of them turned and ran down another corridor. I instinctively dashed after them.

The four of us ran through a few more corridors and empty prison cells, and had run ins and many more fights with guards in which I remained useless, before we finally reached a freight elevator. Cloud wasted no time smashing the button and getting inside followed by Lightning, Vincent and I. The elevator went down two floors, and "dinged" on the third. The second the elevator door opened, we were met with a volley of bullets. I jerked backwards and flattened myself against the wall, terrified as I watched the wave of bullets just barely miss my face by mere inches.

Lightning and Vincent ducked, and began to shoot back. Cloud took the chance and dived out of the elevator, coming down on one of the closer soldiers with his sword, and ducking underneath another series of gunfire. He took out several more, slowing the bullets down so that Lightning and Vincent could run out of the elevator. They did, and I followed them.

Vincent sprayed bullets as we ducked through the soldiers until the gunfire ceased. We continued to run then, down another hallway and though a series of doors.

"Where's the prison they're keeping them in?!" Cloud yelled to Lightning.

"Just up ahead! We just go through that door-"

**BOOOOOM!**

The four of us closed our ears and shielded our eyes as a ton of debris from the floor above collapsed directly in front of us. It completely impeded the way to the prison. We were lucky however, that we had been as far away as we were because the steel mesh and jagged cement would have killed us all.

"What the hell is happening here?!" I shrieked, my voice shrill as if I was losing my mind.

"Those idiots!" Lightning yelled. "They're gonna blow the whole damn place to bits!"

"Forget that! The path's blocked!" Cloud yelled.

"There has to be some other way..." Vincent murmured.

"The only way I can think of is to go up a floor and try to get in through the ceiling." Lightning said.

"Then that's what we'll do. Let's go!" Cloud turned around immediately and ran back towards the elevator, only to be stopped abruptly by a mechanical, rather large and not-too-friendly-looking monster blocking the path. It had jets attached to all four of its feet and flared set of blades stringing down one of its arms. The other one was made to look like a shield.

"Orion!" Lightning blurted out.

The monster lunged at us with its sword arm and began to swing, and we instinctively dived out of its way. I moreso tripped out of the way however because my legs would not cooperate.

Cloud, Vincent and Lightning started to attack its armed exterior. Cloud brought his buster sword down on the machine's head, but it didn't seem to affect it. Vincent shot at it, but the Orion simply absorbed all of the shots with its sheild. Lightning scratched it's paint with her sword, but that didn't help much. I remained on the ground, trying to stand up, but my legs were so wobbly! I was so nervous, so scared, so confused and so unprepared for the pure chaos that this mission had proposed. I was armed with a sword that I didn't know how to effectively swing, and a pistol that I didn't even know how to hold the right way. What had Lightning and Snow been thinking?!

I used the wall as a support and tried to stand myself up.

"WINTER!" Lightning shouted at me. "DON'T JUST SIT THERE!"

I glared, silently cursing her name in my head for dragging me into this. My hand reached shakily for the pistol, and I tried to force it out of the holster, too panicked and distracted to concentrate.

Winter's shouting had triggered something in the Orion's data circuts, and it then turned it attention towards me. Without warning, it dashed at light speed away from its three attackers, headed towards me with its sword arm raised.

I had just gotten my gun out of the holster when I looked up and saw the Shadow of the Orion over my head. It raised its sword to strike, and in my discomposure, I dropped the pistol and covered my head.

Cloud sprang into action, dashing towards the Orion and shielding me from the impact just as it was bringing its sword down. It sliced Cloud's arm, and he recoiled from the pain, grabbing the afflicted area with his free hand.

"Ah!" My eyes shrank as I looked at Cloud's wound. I brought my hands up to my head slowly, unsure of what to say or do.

Cloud shook it off, grabbed his sword, and drove it through the center of the mechanical menace like a boss. He stood up and kicked the machine off of his sword with such force that it slammed into the nearby wall and dented it. To everyone's disappointment however, it got back up. Weaker now, but still not down for the count.

"You guys need to go find the others." Cloud said, referring to their imprisoned comrades.

"Right." Lightning nodded at him and took off running. I followed her, snatching up my pistol and taking one last look back at Cloud before I turned the corner and ran off. I would owe him for the rest of my life...

...Which I was worrying was going to be cut tragically short based on today's events.

"You IDIOT!" Lightning yelled at me once I'd caught up to her. We headed back to the elevator, and when we were in there she hauled up and slapped me.

Out of all the shocking things that had happened today, this one really took the cake for some reason.

I reached up and held my stinging cheeks, my eyes feeling as if they would overflow with tears at any moment.

"How many time are you going to screw things up for us! That guy got hurt because he had to cover for you!" She shouted at me.

I blinked at her, speechless, and very, very lost.

She shook her head in disbelief, and the elevator door opened up. She ran past me and down the narrow hallway at a faster pace than I could keep up with. She quickly pulled away from me, and I knew she was doing it on purpose. I didn't care at that point however, because in that moment I'd made up my mind that I hated this woman.

There were two ceiling to floor double doors up ahead. It looked as if they led to an important room. Lightning ran up to it and forced it open, and I ran into the room behind her.

The room was enormous and grand, almost like a ballroom. There were pillars holding the ceiling up, and gothic ceiling-to-floor windows arranged symmetrically along the sides of the wall. The light wasn't on, and the room was lit only by the outside, making the room gray and unpleasant. It was completely empty.

"Dammit!" Lightning growled. "Wrong hallway!"

She quickly turned the other way, just as another explosion went off somewhere in the building. When we both turned around however, there was someone standing in the doorway.

The woman was tall and fair, wearing high heels on her feet as well as a brown and white dress that looked like something someone in a well-respected position would wear. Her blond hair was long, extending all the way to her lower back in graceful, light waves. She wore glasses, and in her hands she was holding some kind of baton. She had on a deceptive smile, and her eyes were narrowed at the pink-haired soldier.

Lightning froze when she saw her, her eyes expanding.

"Well if it isn't our beloved first-class traitor." The woman said coldly.

"Nabaat..." Lightning whispered.

"It's Selenium to you now." The woman snapped. "General Selenium."

_"Was she related to Arsenic in some way?!"_ I wondered as I watched the two women glare at each other with hateful eyes.  
"What the hell are you doing here?" Lightning demanded, her tone grave.

"I could very well ask you the same thing, but I think we both know the answer to that." General Selenium began to walk towards us slowly, smacking the baton in her palm as she did so. She had on the same confident and aloof look that Lightning did, and that's how I knew automatically, aside from their earlier dialouge, that they had been close.

"However, there's no point. Today is the day they are to die, and I've been looking forward to it for quite a while now." She grinned maniacally "Unfortunately, thanks to your unwelcomed appearance, we've had to carry out the execution in a different manner."

Lightning's eyes flashed.

"...Carbon monoxide poisioning of course." She said, astified with the look on Lightning's face. The smug grimace Selenium had on quickly morphed into a straight, serious one.

"They're dead." She said. "You're too late."

"THAT'S BULLSHIT!" Lighting screamed, lunging at the woman with uncontrollable fury. I was shocked to see her so angry!

The two women engaged in a head to head battle, with Lightning fighting the woman off with her sword, and Nabaat fighting back with her baton.

"Winter!" Lightning yelled to me as the two struggled for power dominance. "Get to the prison NOW! Get them out of there and don't be slow!" She ordered.

As much as I wanted to ignore her, I knew that if those people were by some chance clinging to the threads between life and death at this very moment, then my bitchiness was irrelevant. Before she'd even finished her sentence, I was sprinting past Nabaat and headed towards the door.

The woman kicked Lightning onto the ground and then sprinted towards me.

"Oh NO YOU DON'T!" She yelled angrily, grabbing hold of my arm.

"AH!" I screamed and tried to pull myself free from her deathgrip.

Lightning quickly jumped onto her feet and started to shoot at the half-sane general. Nabaat let go of me to sheild herself, and I took the window to haul ass out of the room and sprint down the hallway, putting my legs to good use. The General realized her error and made a movement towards me, but Lightning lunged at her and tackled her, pinning the woman to the ground with her sword.

"JUST KEEP RUNNING!" Lightning yelled after me. I did as she said, and kept running straight down the hallway. There were still a couple of guards in the area, and when they saw me they started to shoot at me. I just kept running. Some of the guards even tried to follow me, but I didn't look back. I kept running with my head ducked down until I reached the point where the floor had collapsed. I took a quick peak down inside it, and recognized the area where the Orion had attacked us. Cloud and Vincent were nowhere to be found, although I saw the Orion lying in a junk heap on the floor.

The hole had to be at least six-feet wide. On the way here, I'd lost some guards somewhere along the path, but I heard them further down the hallway now, gaining on me.

I said a quick prayer and hoped to God that he show me a miracle. Stepping back a few feet, I sprinted towards the hole with a running start and leaped, summoning as much power in my legs as I could too carry me there.

I missed landing on the edge by a few inches, but I was able to grab it and save myself from being punctured by the bomb debris below me, however. Thinking fast, I took Lightning's sword out of my sheath and drove it into the wall. Since there was no traction on the walls, I used the sword as a foot-hold and managed to climb the rest of the way up. Then, I leaned over the edge and stretched my arms to their fullest length in order retrieve my sword and force it out of the wall. When the task was over, nothing had changed. My legs were still wobbling, I still wanted to cry, I was still shocked at the sudden warlike explosion of chaos, but after having to improvise to save myself, I felt like a boss while I ran down the hallway.

There was a vent in the floor that exposed the area underneath it. I peaked in and saw a single barred cell, with some kind of red-looking dog trapped in one of the cages. It was asleep on the floor of the cell from what it looked like. I was now standing directly over the room that the blocked door was supposed to lead to. So, I assumed that this was the holding cell that they were talking about. It took strength, but I was able to lift the vent out of its hole and throw it behind me. Without thinking, I jumped down below into the floor.

There were several people in the room, and when I dropped in, they all looked directly at me.

"It's another PSICOM soldier!" A blond girl in one cell said.

I blinked at her.

"What the hell do YOU want?!" A rather obnoxious sounding boy asked from the cell furthest away from where I was standing.

"Stop breathing!" I yelled, pulling out my gun.

The people stared at me with horror.

"It's over!" A girl in a cell at the end with an accent covered her eyes. "I can't watch!"

Starting with the cell closest to me, I shot the first lock off of the cell. The bullet's impact scared me, and I nearly misfired! The person in the cell was a huge, dark-skinned man with cornrows and a snazzy-looking outfit on._(1.)_ I couldn't help notice that he only had one hand, and half of his other arm was mechanical with what looked like a rotating machine gun barrel. He was glaring at me, but when I shot the lock open his look eased up.

"I don't know how to use this!" I cried to him.

"I know!" The man shouted, his voice deep. "You done nearly shot me!"

I bowed quickly and pointed the pistol at the next cage, holding the red dog. This time I really did misfire, and I mistakenly opened the cage of the prisoner next to him, which was the blond girl. She was wearing her hair in an eccentric ponytail style on her head, and when her door swung open she jumped for joy and gave me a hug.

"Thank you SOOOO much!" She squeaked.

"Stop breathing!" I shrieked. "The crazy lady put Carbon Monoxide gas in here!"

I continued to shoot the locks off, which ended up taking about 5 minutes of our time. The remaining prisoners were the red feline creature, the obnoxious blond guy wearing a ridiculous outfit, and a melon-headed girl with two pigtails.

"We're OUTTA HERE!" The dark-skinned man bellowed, charging for the door. "NO!" I yelled. "The door's blocked! That's why I came in through the ceiling!"

"Then we'll just have to unblock it!" He roared, kicking the door straight off its hinges with strength fueled by pure adrenaline. The rest of the captives in the room including myself followed him out. They had no weapons, but they stood battle ready as they flooded into the 3-way corridor.

Another bomb exploded somewhere in the distance, and our way forward was blocked.

"Where do we go now?!" The accented girl squeaked, looking both ways. "When in doubt go left!" The eccentric blond yelled, trucking it down the hallway. "Nice knowing ya!"

"Hey!" The obnoxious blond boy yelled, running after her. "Rikku! Don't just run off without me!"

"Wait for me!" The melon-haired girl yelled after them and took off running. The brown-skinned man exchanged glances with the dog, after which they both simultaneously ran after them. "W-wait!" I yelled to the runaway crowd. "Lightning and the others are looking for you!"

The melon haired girl stopped running and turned to face me.

"Did you say Lightning?!" She asked incredulously.

Suddenly, two Orions crashed through the ceiling of the holding room behind us, making me freeze. Without waiting for what would happen next, I shot down the corridor heading away from the group, running as fast as my legs would carry me.

The Orion was gaining speed at an inhuman pace, and any second now it would catch up. I struggled to loose its trail, changing directions and running through more mazes each time a new one popped up. Each time I thought I'd lost it however, it ended up getting closer to me. I finally found some saving grace in a room up ahead, that had one of its two double doors already open. I charged into the room without caring what lie ahead, turned around, and slammed it shut with adrenaline strength that I never knew I could summon.

On the other side of the door, I heard the sound of the Orion smashing into it and exploding on impact, which both relieved me and scared the daylights out of me with the noise. I fell back onto my rear end, and crawled away from the door until my arm hit something.  
I screamed and whirled around, staring down at my obstacle. I screamed even louder when I looked down and saw the corpse of a PSICOM soldier, an open gash in his side that was leaking blood.

I jumpped to my feet and scurried away away from it, nearly tripping over another body as I did so.

Up until this point I had been handling this hell-hole well enough. But now, a single tear fell from my eyes and dropped onto the floor finally, as I officially could not take it anymore.

The room was similar to the one Lightning had been fighting Nabaat in, only this one had strange, colossal experiment tanks inside of it that spanned the length of the floor to the ceiling. In front of each of these tanks was a control panel. The sunlight took the shape of the windows in the room, creating an eerie feel as they lie undisturbed across the floor. I noticed that the entire room had dead PSICOM and SOLDIER guards scattered about the floor like some kind of macabre halloween decoration. Each one of them lie in a pool of their own blood with either a slash or stab wound somewhere on my body. My eyes shrank as I took it all in. So far this prison was nothing more than a house of horrors. Just to make sure I stayed within my right mind, I pretended that the corpses were just actors pretending to be dead for the shooting of a movie. That's when I saw it.

On his back there was but a single, black wing. The feathers of which were strewn about the floor. He was standing in the midst of the corpses, with the longest katana I had ever seen held firmly in his hand. When this person turned his head slowly towards me, his face was pristine and perfect, as if he had the face of an angel.

_...A one-winged angel._

* * *

**_"...Why is an angel standing in the midst of the dead?..." _**

**What happens now?**

**Find out in the next chapter of****_ "White Snow Dimensia!"_**

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

********_(1.) Barret is wearing his outfit from Advent Children._**

**_**(2.) 150 - 200 meters is about 492 - 659 feet._**

* * *

**From the Author:**

****This is the longest chapter yet! Sorry for the people who don't like long chapters, and you're welcome for those that do! haha!**

****Hooray for the one winged Angel! =D**

****I personally feel as though Vanille's hair is more of a pink/melon to - light orange shade. It doesn't seem red to me. Anyone else agree? **

****How's the story so far? R&R please. C=**

**-Kamikimmy13**


	11. Chapter 10 - One Winged Mystery

**Chapter Ten**

* * *

I didn't move. I didn't flinch. I didn't breathe.

The stranger had only the side off his face towards me for a moment, staring me down with undecipherable eyes. He finally turned fully around, revealing the rest of his costume.

I quickly grabbed my pistol and pointed it at him, my arms shaking violently. My mind was so racked with everything that had just happened in the last 30 minutes, that I couldn't even think. Seeing the dead soldiers that lie on all sides of me, I could only think of one thing as I embraced this setting:

That I was next.

The sound of the man's boots echoed throughout the room as he sauntered towards me now, a glacial look in his eyes. His dragged his sword behind him apathetically, and the blade made clinking sounds as it grazed the floor.

_Clip...clop...clip...clop..._

I crawled back towards the door, torpid and nervy, but he kept walking.

"Stop moving." I demanded, taking another step towards the door.

The man only came closer.

"I said stop!" I squeaked, placing my finger on the trigger.

He came closer.

**"GET AWAY FROM ME! DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"**

I screamed, spraying random bullets around the room, none of which hit him.

Faster than humanly possible, he dashed over to me whilst I was shooting, snatched up the gun and to my horror, crushed it in his palm. He let the pieces fall like snowflakes onto the ground, while I watched in panic and disbelief.

He dropped his sword. It fell to the ground with a _"clang!"_

"Now there," He said, his voice eerily calm and collected. His eyes were like cat's pupils. They had an inhuman, unnatural calmness to them that was more mind-wracking than the morbid scene surrounding us both. "There's no need for any of that."

The next thought that entered my mind was to grab my own sword, but I didn't. I didn't even know how to use it. _More than that though, this person's stare had a paralyzing effect. _

He cocked his head sideways to examine my appearance. Everything about me looked unmilitaristic. From the way my hair was styled to the awkwardly laced boots on my feet. I didn't look like the kind of person who would be carrying a sword with any knowledge of how to use it.

"Are you Rufus Shinra?" I demanded.

The man smirked. "No." He said.

"Are you with Sanctum or Shinra?" I asked again.

"Neither." He replied.

"Are you a prisoner here?" I continued. The man shook his head.

"Then why...are you here...?"

He didn't answer.

The man turned his back to me and walked back towards the capsules, stopping suddenly in the middle of the room.

"Why are _you_ here?" He asked me.

I didn't have an answer for him because I didn't know myself. How I'd gotten to this point where I stood was beyond me.

"Well?" He pressed.

"I don't know!" I blurted out.

"Of course." The man said calmly. "You don't belong here. Coming to this place was a suicide, weilding a sword that you don't know how to use, and a gun that you can not even hold."

_"How would he know all that?!" _I thought. _"Is it that obvious just from looking at me?" _

He turned slowly around to face me again."...Do you..._Wish_ to die?"

I defenitely did not wish that.

I took a voluminous step back towards the door, sensing that this lovely chat was about to turn ugly in another minute.

"No sir..." I assured him. "...I just want to leave. You can get back to...whatever you were doing..."

Quickly, I bolted around then and sped towards the door. I hadn't ran more than few feet when the mysterious man suddenly dashed after me, his feet not even touching the ground. With that same inhuman speed, he impeded my way to freedom, and smashed his foot into my ribs, producing an audible _"crack." _

I flew across the floor and rolled around on the ground until I hit the control panel, denting it inwards and causing a spectacle of sparkles and static as the panel short-circuted,. I struggled to lift myself back up, dragging my limp body into an half-sitting position. I felt a stabbing pain in my ribs and cried out, collapsing face-first back onto the ground. The silver-haired man came up then, and stomped down on my ribs, holding me in place with his foot and putting pressure on the injury. At first, I didn't feel it, but he kept pressing down on it until I couldn't take it anymore!

**"AAAAH!"** I let out a blood-curdling scream and cringed from the pain. The man held his seven-foot katana in his hand now and was gazing down at me with a glacial and emotionless expression.

"You're the girl from the desert..." He said plainly.

My mind exploded in shock.

_"Desert?!"_ I shrieked in my head. _"What's he talking about about?! The Marslands?!"_

"...Why are you looking so surprised? Did you forget? Those two rebels found you and took you off to New Braska city? You're still travelling with them, aren't you...? And they're here with you now. Why else would you be here?" He said.

_"Who...are you...?"_ I managed to ask between painful gasps for breath.

"Consider me to be your savior...Without me you do not exist..." He grazed my arm with the katana, cutting an 'X' shape into the skin so quickly that I didn't feel any pain.

"...Winter."

I blinked.

"-She went this way!"

I heard a familiar voice from outside of the door, and both the mysterious man and I looked in its direction.

Suddenly, one of the two bulky doors was sent flying off its hinges. It landed in the center of the room with a loud **"KATHUNK!"** The second one swung open with such force that it broke past its hinges, collided violently into the wall, and slowly broke off.

The first to appear in the doorframe was Tifa, who had apparently shoulder-rammed the first door down. The second was Snow, and behind them was everyone else joined by the prisoners I'd managed to rescue.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud, Tifa, Vincent, the man with the gun arm and the dog all exclaimed at the same time.

I stared up at the man whose foot was crushing my lungs and repeated his name in my head.

_"Sephiroth..."_

Cloud charged past the group and towards Sephiroth, his buster sword in his hands. Sephiroth took his foot off me, and the two clashed swords.

I forced myself to roll around on the ground and get out of harms way, and then summoned a god-sent amount of willpower to push myself to stand up. _It felt like there was a knife puncturing my lungs_. I found support leaning against a pillar, and tried to catch my breath in short amounts, because it was suicide trying to take deep breaths. '

While Cloud and Sephiroth tried to kill each other, The others made their way into the room. Tifa and the dog-beast charged for Sephiroth behind Cloud, while the brown-skinned man and Vincent started to shoot at him.

Kimahri and the two blonds from earlier stood in the middle of the room looking confused, while Lightning, Snow, Yuna, and the accented girl from earlier crossed the floor to reach me. Lightning was the first one over. When she saw me she had a stern yet crazed look in her eye.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Orion..." I began, making words between short pants for air."Chased..._pant_...Door..._pant_...soliders...dead...Sephiroth..." Was all I was able to say before my throbbing ribs screamed at me to stop.

"Where are your weapons?!" She continued, obviously not getting the hint. Yuna, Snow, and the melon-haired girl joined Lightning then.

"Are you hurt?!" Snow asked.

_"No shit."_ I thought.

"We need to get out of here, the whole floor's set to collapse!" The melon-haired girl squeaked.

"Where's our rendevouz point?" Snow asked.

"CLOUD!" Lightning yelled to the blond soldier, who was busily ducking Sephiroth's sword. He was being crippled somewhat by the injury in his arm from earlier, I could tell. Sephiroth was doing a good job of dodging bullets, avoiding Tifa and the dog, and attacking Cloud all at the same time. Seeing this made me realize that even if I had known how to use my sword, I would've gotten my ass kicked. "WE NEED TO GO!"

Sephiroth and Cloud jumpped back and away from each other. Cloud skidded against the floor with his feet on the ground, and Sephiroth gracefully leaped to the top of the experiment capsule.

"Until next time, Cloud." He said pleasantly before turning to me, with a grin, as though seeing my broken exterior gave him immeasurable delight. "And you too, Winter."

Tifa, Cloud, Vincent, and well-everybody's eyes shot directly towards me. Sephiroth folded his wing over his body and disappeared in a flutter of ebony feathers. Meanwhile, the floor was beginning to shake violently, signaling the limited amount of escape time we had.  
Snow hoisted me onto his back, which killed my ribs. I knew he was trying to help but the pain just made me want to punch him. "LET'S GO!" Tifa yelled, sprinting towards the door. Everyone followed, just as a section of the ground in a corner of the room started to cave in.

We darted left and right throughout the hallways, turning corners and dodging falling debris. Most of the soldiers guarding this floor had already cleared the area, leaving us much more leeway but less space seeing as the random bombs from earlier and the collapsing ceiling had created blockades. Eventually, we all made it back to the window where we first started, and hopped over the glass onto the balcony. Cid's airship was already waiting there when we arrived, and rather than let us in by rope ladder, he had the doors opened already and a ramp attached to the ground. He was standing by the door, beckoning us in with his hands.

The faster people were the first one onboard, followed by the heavier and slower ones trying to keep up. Snow and I were the second-to-last person on the airship followed by the manchine gun-arm guy before Cid slammed the doors shut and ran to the cockpit. The rest of us followed him, not knowing where else to go.

"Hang on!" Cid yelled, jumpping into the the pilot's seat. He thrust a lever forwards and gripped the navigator, causing the airship to shoot forwards with such force that we all skidded backwards towards the wall. Soon however, we were soaring over the storm clouds, and were once again in the clear.

"Phew!" Cid exclaimed, relaxing in his chair. "Ya'll had me worried that that dern building 'as gonna kill ya'll."

"Thanks..." The brown-skinned man began. "...But it took you long enough! The hell you guys been doin' the whole time?!"

"You're welcome Barret." Tifa smiled. "And you too, Red." She turned to the red, lion-dog mixed creature that was sitting on its hind-legs. It nodded at her.

"Yunnie!" The eccentric-haired blond girl threw her arms around Yuna, nearly choking her to death. "I'm so glad you came!"  
"I'm glad we weren't too late!" Yuna laughed.

"Group hug!" the spikey haired boy declared, putting his arms around the two girls. He perked up then, and saw Kimahri standing there, watching the heart-warming reunion. "You too buddy!" He said happily, beckoning the blue tiger with his head.

Kimahri shook his head. "Kimahri will pass." He said.

I stared at him, momentarily flabbergasted. _"Did he just...talk?!" _I thought.

"Lightning, Snow!" The melon-haired girl greeted her two comrades with quick hugs.

"Are you hurt, Vanille?" Lightning asked the girl.

"Nope! I'm just fine!" She said happily. "It'll take more than that to stop me!"

Lightning grinned and nodded.

I couldn't believe it. _She grinned._

Vanille turned to me then and smiled. "Hiya!" She chimed, waving at me enthusiastically.

There was something about this Vanille person that was very...refreshing in a word. Although tending to want to hide in a corner when meeting most people, Vanille made me want to smile back and say hello. She wasn't intimidating at all. In fact she reminded me more of a...kid.

"Is there some place we can sit her down?" Snow asked Cid.

"I don't think I have any chairs..." Cid mumbled. "But I'm sure there sumthin 'round her' that you can use."

* * *

We found an empty room with a table and single wooden chair after doing some digging around the ship. Snow sat me down on the table. Yuna had followed after us, acting as the nurse of our group. She examined my mid-section, and after a few minutes of careful deduction, she announced that one of my ribs was fractured and seemed to be poking my lungs. Without having to be examined though, I could have told her that.

"Does she need to see a doctor?" Snow asked.

"That won't be needed." Yuna assured him. "All we will need is a potion."

Lightning reached into her pouch and produced for her a vial of red liquid. "Here." She said, handing it off to the brunette.

Yuna placed the vial on the table and nodded at me. "I'm going to do a cure spell on you. Please drink the potion when I'm done, okay?"

I nodded, eager for her to get this show on the road.

Yuna placed her hands on my ribcage and closed her eyes. She stepped back, raised her staff in the air, and pointed it towards me.

"CURA!" She yelled.

A bright light formed around the staff's head. Within a matter of moments, the pain had nearly vanished. I physically felt the fractured rib begin to mend itself back together, like a magical, super pain-killer.

I lightly poked the injured area, and smiled from relief. "_Thank_ you!" I sighed.

Yuna smiled back. "Your rib should be all better by tomorrow morning. Make sure you drink that potion!" She said.

"I will." I promised her.

There was a knock on the wall, and we all turned our heads to see Cloud in the doorframe. He had a blank look on his face.

"Is something wrong?" Yuna asked.

"I need to talk to Winter." He said sternly.

Yuna nodded. "Come on in-"

"Alone." He interupted.

"Oh," The brunette said, somewhat taken aback by his curtness. "Well, I'll be going then. Get better, Winter!" She bowed before leaving the room.

"Good luck, kiddo." Snow said as he and Lightning left, followed by Vanille who waved "goodbye" to me.

Once everyone was gone, Cloud entered the room and closed the door. I watched him with cautious eyes as he walked to a corner and reclined against the wall. He studied me with an unreadable expression. I sat fidgeting in my place, wondering just what I could have possibly done. There was awkward silence in the room.

"...How do you know Sephiroth?" We both asked at the same time.

"Me?" I asked in disbelief. "I don't know him from a hole in the wall."

"He called you by your name." Cloud said flatly. I could see why he would assume that I knew him, but...

"I've really never seen him before." I admitted.

Cloud let out an exasperated sigh.

"Sephiroth's not someone you should be covering for." He said.

"Do you think I'd be covering for someone who broke my rib and sliced my arm open?"

Cloud considered this for a moment, but he didn't look convinced.

"It looks like you and your friends have some kind of vendetta with him." I seized his silence as a chance to say something before he asked another question.

Cloud scratched his head uneasily. "We're enemies." He finally said after some heavy silence. "He's like a nightmare that keeps coming back. Everyone he kills stays dead, but he just keeps...coming...back..."

It was clear the deep hatred that Cloud had for this man. Obviously, he had some kind of baggage that Sephiroth had left him with. I secretly wanted to know, but I didn't want to ask. It was none of my business.

"He said he didn't work for Shinra or Soldier." I said.

"What else did he say." Cloud demanded more than asked.

I thought back to our encounter only about a half an hour or so earlier. He hadn't said much to me, but...what he did say...

_"You're the girl from the desert..." _

_"Do you...wish to die?"_

_"Consider me to be your savior...Without me you do not exist..."_

...was eating away at the back of my mind.

"He knows me...But I don't know him..." I mumbled to the four walls.

"He said that?" Cloud asked.

I shook my head. "He didn't have to..."

"Winter," Cloud walked closer towards the table, stopping when he was only a few feet away. "If you see him again, you need to run away or call someone."

"Because running worked out so well the last time..." I mumbled, still bitter over my rib.

Cloud sighed.

"You need to learn how to fight." He said. "Then, at least if you see him again, you won't get your butt handed to you. If we hadn't showed up, he...Things would've been a lot worse for you."

I nodded my head.

"Cid's going to drop the airship off in Kalm. " Cloud continued, "I don't know about you and your friend, but we're going to lay low there for a while until we get some leads on Shinra."

"You should have enough time to find something to defend yourself with there. You can't be associated with people like us and not be able to fight. They'll kill you."

I nodded slowly, taking his words in. "Okay."

"Good..." The blond soldier turned and walked to the door. He put his hand on the knob before he stopped.

"And If you don't have a phone, you need to get one." He said to me before taking his leave.

I watched him walk down the hallway until he turned a corner and disappeared, leaving me to stare blankly at the place he'd been standing before leaving the room. Eventually my mind drifted back to Sephiroth. The whole thing with the desert seemed to have disturbed me the most, combined with the fact that he knew who I was already, and who I was travelling with.

_"...When did he see me in the desert?"_

_"How did he know I'd been travelling with Lightning and Snow...?"_

_"...Why did he cut my arm? Why did he attack me in the first place?"_

_"What the hell was he doing just standing in a strange room surrounded by dead people while the building was collapsing? Waiting for me?..."_

_"...What would he have done to me if Cloud and the others hadn't showed up?"_

I quickly erased that thought from my head, although several horrifying images popped up subliminally from my imagination.

_"Until next time Cloud. You too, Winter."_

I shivered violently, and hugged myself.

Vanille suddenly poked her head into the room. She looked at the wall, and then looked at the table where I was sitting. I didn't notice her until she'd stepped into the room and said: "Hi!"

I brought myself back into reality, saw Vanille, and grinned back.

"Hi..." I said quietly.

The happy girl skittered over to me, and slammed her hands down on the table. I jumped, looking at her with a surprised and confused expression.

"What's your name?" She asked.

"It's Winter." I replied.

"Winter..." She repeated, with a thoughtful gaze. "It's a lovely name! Mine's Vanille! Nice to meetcha!" She held her hand out to me. I took it hesitantly, a bit wary of her friendliness. We shook hands, and Vanille jumpped onto the table next to me, all smiles. It made me wonder how someone so happy could ever be thrown into a hell-hole like Sector-Zero Prison...

"Something wrong?" She asked.

I blinked and turned my eyes to the ground, letting out a sigh. "This is just too much..." I mumbled.

"What is?"

"This." I said, waving my arms around the room. "This whole fiasco..."

Vanille was quiet for a minute, thinking over my answer. Finally she slid off the table and stood directly in front of me. She was only arm's length away, but I flinched because I thought she was too close.

Vanille put her hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eye.

"It is too much, isn't it?" She asked rhetorically.

I stared at my folded hands and nodded.

"If it's too much now," She then said, "Then face it later."

I looked up at her, baffled at the logic. She however, smiled at my expression.

"Sometimes things are easier to process if you look at them from a distance." She said.

"But..." I objected. "Isn't that like...procrastinating...or running away?"

"Not if you're taking time to think! Nothing wrong with a little down time now and then, yeah?"

I smiled at her and nodded. "Yeah."

"Living this kind of life on the run is stressful." Vanille continued. "It's always best to take a break whenever you can to look up at the sky and smile. That way, you won't go crazy!"

I hadn't been doing too much smiling lately. When I realized this, everything suddenly made sense. Being in that "No-Man's-Land" of a Prison, with all the warlike calamity on every corner just hitting me in the face, only enhanced this fact. I wasn't just going to just up and accept this lifestyle, not when I had a family to live for and death was just so _possible_. However, I would eventually see them again, and that's what I needed to focus on. Destruction, Shinra, Sephiroth-they were only barricades that would go away soon. When I finally did see my parent's faces again, I wanted them to see my smile and know that I'd been thinking of them.

Vanille was right. I would just face it later.

* * *

_**How does Sephiroth know so much about Winter? **_

**_This is the "Kalm" before the storm, so stay tuned for the next chapter of_**** "White Snow Dimensia!"**

* * *

**Author's Comments:**

****Short Chappie FTW!**

****Just warning you now, the next chapter will be like chapter 7, when the points of view went from First to Third-Person Omniscient.**

****The main gang's all here for now, so you guys can start suggesting pairings. C=****_ ((I _****_won't do_****_ yaoi, or yuri, or crack pairings, so don't try to ask! And be forewarned, I've never written romance...EVER. If you guys suggest a pairing, I will do my best to make it as sincere as possible, but please don't stone me if something goes wrong ;A;))_**

**** Lightningpanda : (1.) Only if you suggest it! Pairings weren't originally in the storyline, but I'm sure I can weave some in there. (2.)Funny you should mention that. Maybe he dooooeesssss~ lol =D**

****Thank you all for reading this far. Please R&R Thank you very much!**

**-Kamikimmy13**


	12. Chapter 11 - Birth of a New Rebellion

**Chapter 11**

* * *

Cloud Strife walked into the cockpit, the automatic door sliding closed behind him. The room's occupant's, save for the pilot and the two "Cocooners" watched him as he entered, expecting him to say something about the chat with the girl from earlier. The ex-PSICOM soldier and her blond friend had their back turned to him, and were discussing the events of the day so far.

"How did it go?" Tifa asked her blond friend.

"She said she'd never seen him before." He answered.

"Yeah, right." Barrett scoffed.

"This calls for further investigation..." Red said.

"There are a lot of questions that need answering." Cloud agreed. "Like what was Sephiroth doing in the prison."

"And how to get to Rufus." Tifa added.

"And where do we go from here." Vincent concluded.

"That's a good question." Snow approached the group from behind then, and they all turned to look at him. "Sorry for snooping." He apologized.

"The ship's landing in Kalm." Cloud said. "We're going to lay low there for a couple of days until we can get a new lead on The President. Then we want to get more information on the World Merge."

"We're looking for Shinra too." Snow said. "And Dysley, the Sanctum Primarch. We have a little unfinished business with him...,but if you don't mind me asking, why are you trying to get more information on the World Merge?"

"We want to reverse it." The group answered in unison.

"Reverse it?!" Lightning exclaimed from across the room. "Is that even possible?"

"We don't know." Cloud admitted. "We're hoping that if there's a way to make it happen, then there has to be some kind of way to undo it."

"This whole grouping of worlds together is causing too much suffering. It needs to end." Tifa said.

"You do realize that you're talking about an apocalypse, right?" Lightning eyed the group suspiciously, as did Snow.

"We gotta do what we gotta do!" Barrett said.

"Let us join you then." Snow proposed, earning a death glare from Lightning. "Our goals are all going to lead us to each of those places eventually. We both have knowledge of Shinra and The Sanctum. We could probably benefit from each other."

Cloud shot a look a Tifa, who shot a look back at Cloud. The two did some talking with their eyes until Cloud finally said: "Excuse us."  
The blond ex-Soldier beckoned his teammates with his head towards the exit, and they followed without question. Then, it was just Lightning, Snow, and Cid who were in the room. Cid was too busy flying the airship to have noticed the group's prior conversation, but Lightning was furious. She stormed over to Snow, and without any warning balled up all her hot-headed frustration and impatience into a fist, then hauled up and punched him square in the jaw. The blond was swiftly knocked off of his feet and fell backwards with an "OMF!",colliding into a section of the wrap-around control panel.

"You _IDIOT_!" She growled. "What do you think you're doing?!"

The tall blond massaged and flexed his jaw before standing back on his feet and facing Lightning. There was a mix of determination and anger on his face as he glared down at the infuriated soldier before him.

"What was that for?!" He demanded.

"Why do you keep creating road-blocks for me?!" She yelled back, clenching her fist once more as if to punch him again. "You did it with Winter, you're doing it now! We're on a mission, Snow! Stop bullshitting around!"

"I'm trying to help us BOTH!" He shot back.

"You're slowing me down!" She growled. "On my own, I could have avenged Serah and killed that _damned_ Arsenic a _long_ time ago! But ever since I let you come with me, you've just been procrastinating! Trying to be the "hero" for every damsel with a sob story that freakin walks into you. You're so full of crap! Do you want to avenge Serah or not?!"

"Of course I do! I want to get revenge on Arsenic just as much as the next victim, Lightning! But Serah's not the first person he's killed, and she won't be the last!"

"That's why that bastard needs to die!" Lightning yelled. "We need to find him and _end_ him! Fast! We don't have time to be doing all of THIS!" She beckoned towards the hallway that Cloud and the others had stepped into.

"I'm not out for just Arsenic, Lightning. Even if we killed him tomorrow, Shinra would have him replaced by the next day. Don't you get it?! Killing one general won't stop Shinra or the Sanctum from murdering more innocent people! They'll keep finding excuses, and kill someone _else's_ sister! It's the whole corrupt government that needs to fall, not just Arsenic! THAT'S why I'm doing this!"

Lightning stared back at Snow, her mind clouded with all her blinding fury and rage. He had a look of pure determination in his eyes to combat her own, as he waited for her to say something. The pink-haired PSICOM rogue however, didn't have any response to give him. _"You're wrong. You're just making excuses!" _She thought. He was being side-tracked, as he always had been. Lightning had an agenda, and bringing Snow along for the ride had done nothing but prevent her from accomplishing its tasks. Each passing day she found herself getting closer, only to be snatched away by some kind of drastic, inevitable turn of events brought on by him, and it was pissing her off.

The door opened then, and Yuna followed by her three companions entered the cockpit. There was Tidus, Spira's beloved star athlete before he was taken to prison by SOLIDER. Then there was Rikku, an al-bhed girl from the Spiran deserts who was a proud fighter in the Al-bhed Crusaders before she too was taken to prison. Both of these individuals were cheerful people for the most part, although Rikku was more childish and playful while Tidus was more of a "come at me bro" kind of guy.

When their little quadrant entered the room, Lightning swiftly and silently took her leave.

"Lightning!" Snow called after her, reaching forward as if to stop her from leaving. He sighed and shook his head, then smashed his fist into a wall. Cid was still too absorbed in his job to notice.

Yuna, Rikku, Tidus, and Kimahri's heads all turned as they watched Lightning leave, confused at the awkwardness of the situation, but too intimidated by Lightning and her no-nonsense facial expression to ask. Once she was gone, they turned to the dejected looking Snow. Yuna smiled at him knowingly, and cocked her head to the side in sympathy.

"Didn't go so well, huh?" Tidus asked.

Snow took his hand off the wall. "That's how it usually goes." He mumbled.

"Well, Mr. Villiers, " Yuna began, earning a gasp from Rikku and a surprised face from Tidus. "I would like to thank you once again, for helping me rescue my friends." She bowed.

"_I_ should be thanking _you_." Snow grinned. "Your curing magic really came in handy."

Yuna gave a shrug and smiled back. "It was no problem."

"Wait a minute!" Rikku and Tidus exclaimed in unison.

"Did you say Villiers?!" Tidus asked incredulously.

"The one from NORA?" Rikku shrieked.

"Yes, that's right." Yuna walked over to Snow and pointed to him with her hand. "Tidus, Rikku, please meet Snow Villiers, the leader of NORA."

"Woooooow!" Rikku exclaimed. "I can't believe its really him in the flesh!" The hyper blond girl bounced across the room, stopping in front of Snow. "He's really as huge as they say he is!" There was no mistaking that. The man was going on 6'8 and boasted 200 pounds of straight muscle and brawn.

Snow felt a swell of pride from the girl's admiration and grinned.

"Snow, this is Rikku, my cousin. The boy over there is Tidus, my good friend."

"Isn't this the guy they were looking for when those soldiers came to Bevelle?" Tidus asked.

Snow's grin slowly turned into a straight face, and his eyes wandered over to Yuna, who seemed to look worried. As if she hadn't expected that point to come up.

"Tidus!" Rikku scolded the spiky-haired athlete. "They were looking for a girl named Nora! Does "SNOW" sound like  
"NORA" To you?!"

"They were looking for NORA members." Yuna corrected Rikku. "Not Snow directly, or anybody specifically named Nora."

"Oh." Rikku stuck her tongue out at nobody in particular. "A minor oopsie on my part."

Tidus was silent, staring at Snow with an undecipherable expression. Yuna and Rikku exchanged glances, as the four Spiran's stray thought drifted into unwelcome memories of the invasion in Bevelle. Rikku was the first to shake her head fervently and shove the memories out of her conscience. "I won't let them win..." She said under her breath.

Cloud entered the room then along with the other members of his group. "We talked your offer over, and we think it makes sense." He said.

"What does?"

Vanille appeared behind Cloud's group, with Winter next to her. Winter's eyes projected the same lost expression she usually had on, while Vanille looked happily curious. The two girls squeezed past the group blocking the door and walked into the cockpit to join the gathering.

"We thought that it'd be a good idea to stick around in a group for the time being." Snow explained. "Since we all have one common goal, it just looked like the best thing to do."

"What is your goal?" Yuna asked.

"Put simply, we want to end this reign of terror that the Sanctum/Shinra government is imposing on the world." Tifa said. "And if we could, somehow...maybe, reverse the World Merge?"

Rikku and Vanille gasped. Tidus, Yuna and Kimahri's eyes widened in shock. The four looked at each other, passing questioning glances among themselves. Winter remained ignorant as to what it would mean for the world if such a task could be completed.

"Can we do that? Is it possible?" Tidus asked.

"It better be." Barret grunted.

"The truth is, we don't know." Cloud said. "But it's worth it to find out."

"But won't Shinra just be able to re-merge?" Vanille squeaked.

"To permanently stop another merge from occurring again, we would have to find some way to destroy the technology that Shinra used to make it possible. We'd have to somehow erase its place in history." Yuna said.

"You have to admit, that does sound like a long-shot." Snow said.

"The rebel's life is full of them." Red sighed.

"Well if it can be done, let's do it!" Tidus cheered. "I'm with you guys! Let us work with you too!"

"We want to free Spira from these bullies too! Especially that Radon! OOOHH he makes me so MAD!" Rikku growled.

"The more the merrier!" Tifa smiled.

"The more the riskier." Cloud added. "There's strength in numbers, but we're more vulnerable with more people too."

"Ah well, ya give some, ya take some!" Tidus grinned.

"If we go down, You best believe we're goin' down fightnin!" Barret agreed.

"So its agreed?" Snow jumpped in. "We're all in this together?"

"I'm in!" Tidus cheered, punching a fist into the air.

"Me too!" Vanille smiled, raising her hand then forcibly raising Winter's. Winter gave the girl a questionable look, as if to say: _"Why are you dragging me into this?!"_

"I'm in." Yuna agreed.

"I'm with Yunnie!" Rikku smiled.

"Count us in too!" Barret spoke up for the whole group.

"Good." Snow nodded.

Tifa stepped forward. "We weren't able to make a solid introduction in the prison." She said. "Why don't we start now? My name is Tifa Lockheart. I'm a member of AVALANCHE, the rebel organization in Gaia. The guy on the steering wheel is Cid Highwind, a good friend of ours."

She turned to her friends and nodded at them to introduce themselves.

"Barret Wallace." The dark-skinned man said. "Leader of AVALANCHE!"

"Red XIII." The lion creature went next. "I was captured by Shinra to be used as a text experiment. I'm the very last of my kind."

"Cloud Strife. Ex-SOLDIER." The blond said simply.

"...Vincent Valentine. Shinra victim." The vampire said reluctantly.

"My name is Yuna," The brunette said with a polite bow. "I'm a summoner from Besaid in Spira."

"Name's Tidus!" The spiky haired athlete said next. "Blitzball extraordinaire and star player of the Zandarkand abes, now a wanted man!"

"I'm Rikku!" Said the cheery al-bhed. "I'm an Al-bhed crusader working against the evil forces of the Shinra-Sanctum Alliance!" She put an arm around Yuna and smiled. "I'm also Yunnie's cousin!"

"I am Kimahri Ronso of Ronso tribe." Kimahri said. "Kimahri is Yuna's guardian."

"Snow Villers." The tall blond introduced himself next. "Leader of NORA. I was raised by the Sanctum as a kid. Lightning's my partner, but she's probably letting off some steam now. She's ex-PSICOM first-class."

"My full name is Oerba Dia Vanille." The melon-haired girl smiled. "I'm from the tribe of "Dia" in Oerba of Gran Pulse, and my name is Vanille. Nice to meet you!"

All eyes turned to Winter, whom after their earlier run in with the dark-clad entity of evil known as Sephiroth, now had everyone secretly wondering exactly who she was.

The girl's eyes darted from person to person, and she hung her head shyly, avoiding eye-contact.

"Winter." She said quietly.

The group waited for something more, and seemed disappointed when they realized that that was all they were going to get.

"That's it?!" Tidus asked in disbelief. "Aw, come on! Tell us more! Where're you from? Why're you here?" Everyone else silently agreed with him, but no one said anything because they were waiting for her to continue.

"...New Braska." She finally said, refusing still to look at anyone. "And...I'm still trying to figure out why I'm here..."  
It was hardly a satisfactory answer, but it would have to do.

...

...

* * *

...

...

"They _escaped_?!"

The President of Shrina Corporation sat at his official desk, his eyebrows slanted and his eyes burning with white-hot rage. The Three High Shrina/Sanctum Generals stood before him, cowering in their boots. Two of these three had had their heads dipped in shame as they tried to explain what had went down at the Sector Zero Prison just a few hours ago.

"There was a prison breach sir," General Selenium was saying. "But it turned out that there was more than one target that had broken into it prior to the group that Lightning was with-"

"So two targets escaped?" Shinra pressed.

"...I tried to stop her sir," Selenium whispered.

Rufus stood up from his seat and placed his hands on the desk. "You worthless Sanctum _trash_!" He spat. "Once again you two have managed to screw up a simple order! What is the meaning of this heinous mediocrity?! It is simply UNACCEPTABLE!"

"We are very sorry sir!" The two generals said in unison.

The President plopped back down in his chair. "You two sicken me the most." He pointed to Arsenic and Selenium with two fingers, a glacial tone in his voice. "Why can't you both be like your partner, General Radon? He is a _just_ man, who is not so _soft_ on his targets."

The two shamed Generals turned their faces to the third, who stood inbetween the two. He was referred to by his soldiers by his ironic last name of "Mahdman", and to everyone else he was known as General Radon.

Radon was about 5'9, and was of average build. His skin was of a pasty pale pigmentation and his red-orange hair was always worn spiked upwards like fire. His eyes were blood-red, and they had a certain madness about them that you did not have to know him personally to recognize. Radon was known among the military and Shinra sectors to be especially cruel in dealing with criminals, and to actually be _delighted_ from seeing them suffer. It was his motivation.

The soldiers that he commanded claimed that he had no soul, and de-humanized everything and everyone until he had become so far-removed from people's suffering that he could no longer relate. Radon was a Shinra general who was in charge of policing the land of Spira. Compared to the rest of the world, Spira was a much more peaceful place-but only in theory. In truth, all of its inhabitants were scared to death of this notorious man and his insanity. Along with being in charge of commanding Spiran Militia, he was also the brain behind some of Shinra's most dastardly, repulsive science-made Invalets.

Spirans however weren't the only ones fearful of him. His fellow comrades took only a brief look at him before quickly returning their attention back to the floor tiles.

"Why, thank you ." Radon smirked, giving him a showoff-y bow. "It's only natural when I serve the greatest power in the world. After all," He turned to the other two generals with a wry smile. "Nothing good ever comes out of Cocoon."

"Clearly." Shinra agreed.

The other two Generals eye's flared with anger. Once again, their pride had been wounded.

"We are sorry, sir." They apologized.

"When this gets out to the public," Rufus continued, dismissing their empty remorse. "The press will be at my doorstep for weeks. Not to mention the cost to fix the prison will have to come out of the federal reserves..."

"If it's of any signifigance to you sir, I would like to inform you that my espionage has recieved more information on one named Sephiroth." Arsenic offered.

"He was the target that had invaded the prison before Farron did, sir." Selenium added quickly.

Rufus froze.

"Sephiroth?" He repeated, his heartrate suddenly quickening. "How can that be, Sephiroth is dead! His eradication was a requirement in order to complete the World Merge!"

"He's very much alive sir." Selenium said. "Whilst on my way to confront Lightning, I saw him with my very own eyes."

"He seems to be investigating the World Merge." Arsenic explained. "We aren't entirely sure if that's the case. A crippling majority of the spies that come into contact with him don't come back alive. Those that do are usually the ones with the least amount of information."

Rufus' heart sank at the news. He took in the General's words and thought them over, starting to piece together what this would mean for him and his empire. Rufus had never been a fan of Sephiroth's, and as soon as the swordsman found out his role in the World's integration he would be coming for him, hellbent on revenge.  
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Rufus asked, in a surprsingly calm matter. "That's a crisis compared to the state of the Prison! I'll have to arrange a meeting with the Sanctum Primarch to inform him of this. Also, I'm going to have to go into hiding. If Sephiroth finds me, it'll be problematic..."

"Shall I withdraw the espionage until you find cover sir?" Arsenic asked.

"No, that wouldn't be smart. In fact, send out more soldiers. Find out exactly what it is that Sephiroth wants, and inform me of any progress posthaste. Also, I want you to seek out a specialist to deal with those rogues. They're just creating problems for me." Rufus ordered.

"I will arrange for a private meeting with the Primarch, sir." Selenium bowed.

"Understood, sir. I will send out more spies." Arsenic bowed.

"What should I do, sir?" Radon asked.

"Continue doing what it is you do best, Radon." Rufus answered. "You're all dismissed. Selenium, while you're at it, arrange for a public news-casting to be made. The public will have to be informed that I will be retiring from my duties for a short while and working from the sidelines."

"I don't mean to refute sir, but what will happen if Sephiroth somehow sees?"

"It doesn't matter. I am only announcing that I will be taking a leisure, not completely abandoning my work. Sephiroth doesn't have to know where I'll be, and neither does the public. Keep it subtle. The citizens will start to panic if they find out I'm in hiding."

"Understood, sir." Selenium bowed.

...

...

* * *

...

...

Cid was getting ready to land the airship when Lightning finally came back to the cockpit. She entered quietly, but everyone turned to look at her. She retreated to a corner of the room and reclined against a wall with a faraway look in her eyes. Snow, who was standing on the left side of the room next to a section of control panel, glanced at her for only a brief second before he returned his attention to the small group he was in that was discussing Shinra. In it was Cloud, Tifa, Barrett, and Yuna. Tidus and Rikku were chatting with Vanille, Kimahri and Red were talking to each other about what seemed to be the history of their species, and Vincent was in a corner separate from all the groups. He was staring at me. I could feel his eyes even though I was trying to not to make any eye contact back.  
As for me, I was sitting quietly on the single stair that led into the pilot's pit. I was sitting at an angle so that I had a good view of the people around me, not that I was looking at them. I twiddled my thumbs and wished that I had been able to at least bring my sketchbook into this place. I always got like this in large groups. Being around people in general had never been one of my merits.

Combined with the fact the the vampire kept eye-balling me, I just wanted this airship to hurry up and land.'

According to Snow however, the vampire and his friends would be tagging along for a while, so I would have to deal with it.

I thought back to my dilemma earlier, when I couldn't jump ship. The man had pushed me off in the nick of time.

_"Like he knew beforehand that I wasn't planning to jump."_ I thought.

I wasn't sure if he had done me a favor or not, but I wanted to thank him for some reason. However, the slight stinging I felt on my arm still from Sephiroth's sword reminded me that if he hadn't pushed me, the pain would be non-existant. Suddenly, I didn't want to thank him anymore.

"We're over Kalm right now," Cid announced to the people gathered behind him. "Everybody hang on to sumthin, we're goin down!"

That was a pretty stupid thing to say considering there was nothing to hang on to besides each other in this room.

The ship began to drop steadily, and continued on a steady decline until we landed. On the way down from where I sat, I was able to get a look at the landscape from the windows. From what I saw, Kalm was a city like the few I'd been too. It was surrounded by a wall lying in the middle of what looked like a wasteland whose life had recently begun to wither away. On its east side there lie what appeared to be some kind of ruin. On its west, there was a city_(1)_. We were a good ways away from both the city and the ruin, but I deduced that the city to the west was some kind of miniature version of New Midgar.

Cid landed the airship about a mile or so away from Kalm. He left its rotors on when he touched the ground, and showed us all to the door once it was safe to leave the _Shera_.

"See ya'll later!" He said to us once the last person had stepped off the airship. "Ya'll take care, ya hear?"

With that, he slid the doors shut. Several minutes later, the airship ascended into the sky again, and took off overhead, flying past Kalm and fading into the distance.

"Let's go." Cloud said once the _Shera_ had disappeared from view. Tifa nodded in agreement, and then, to my sheer horror, we began to _walk_ to the city.

Walk.

A mile.

...

* * *

**Now that the Team is all assembled, what lies ahead for the group?!**

**Will Winter survive the mile-long walk?!**

**Where does the team go from here? **

**What is Sephiroth's Motive?!**

**And ****_where _****is Winter's Family?!**

**Stay tuned for the next chapter of ****_White Snow Dimensia!_**

* * *

**Story Notes:**

_**(1.) She's talking about the City of "Edge" (Advent Children.)**_

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

****Everyone's finally assembled! Hooray!**

****As a side note: To those people who are reviewing, I'm very grateful. However to the lazy ones, I really wish you guys would just press the button below and type in a few words. ****_"It's nice so far"_**** or even ****_"Continue."_**** Would be great. Honestly, I upload the story because I like writing it and I want others to read it, but there's no point if you don't give me any feedback. I welcome your criticism, your suggestions, every little thing matters. So please, R&R. It will be greatly appreciated.**

**Thank you.**

**-Kamikimmy13**


	13. Chapter 12 - The Kids and the Kalm

.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

* * *

For the first five minutes of the 15 it took us to walk there, I was doing pretty good. I felt healthy and rejuvenated. Not too much longer later however, my legs began to itch slightly. I brushed it off as a minor affliction because of the wind or something, but soon the itching spread to my arms. As couple minutes later, all of the itching places started burning! I started to feel uncomfortable, and wanted nothing more than to just throw my shoes off and collapse into a bed. Shortly before we got to the city, I started to pant and wheeze, and before I knew it, I was lagging behind the group. The distance grew further and further apart until I knew I had to be at least 2 full minutes behind everyone else, who was strutting along with no problems. By the time we got to the city, I was a mess. A coughing, wheezing and panting mess.

Snow finally noticed when I walked into the city gates 2 minutes after everyone else did. And then when he saw me, he started to laugh.

"You are waaay out of shape!" He teased.

I couldn't snap back with something witty because every gasp of air I was taking was too precious to be wasting on something so trivial. But I did manage to say:

_"Shut...up..."_

The group stopped walking in the middle of the city, and those who were unfamiliar with the place were looking around, taking in the scenery. Kalm was a quaint little city, but it was more like a village or town. The houses were styles like 16th century European peasant homes. There was some kind of construction going on in the middle of the city, as well a cute little well in the center of the town that young teens like myself were throwing coins-er, _gil_-into.

"We should go to the inn first." Tifa said to Cloud. "The kids will be so happy to see everyone again!"

_ "Kids?"_ I thought, staring at the blond SOLDIER and his dark-haired friend with large eyes. _"They're MARRIED? But they're so young!_ _Just how early did they get started?_"

"I wanna see Marlene." Barrett said to Tifa.

"You guys should do some sightseeing and get acquainted with the town." Tifa said to the rest of us.

"That's a wonderful idea." Yuna said. "Let's go sight-seeing, Rikku!"

"Alright! I'm with ya Yunnie!"

The two girls walked away from the group, Kimahri following closely behind them.

"Hey!" Tidus ran after them. "Don't just leave me behind!"

"I need to relax." Snow said. "Is there a bar or something around here?" He asked Cloud. "They just built one. I'll take you there, just give me a minute." Cloud replied.

"I'm going to the store." Lightning said, walking off to the right. Apparently, she already knew where she was going. I watched her leave, unsure of what to think. Snow, Vanille and I looked at each other, and shrugged.

"So I guess the rest of us are gonna go to the inn?" Tifa asked the remaining people. "I guess." Red XIII nodded.

I found myself strangely fascinated with Red. Aside from the fact that he was a talking animal, and well, red, I entertained myself by trying to figure out whether or not he was a canine or feline creature. The whole talking thing hadn't surprised me as much as it should have. After travelling around with people like these for a while, you just learn to expect the unexpected.

Tifa led us to the inn, which was on the immidiate left of Kalm's enterance. It had a sign plastered above it, and I was happily surprised to see that it was written in english letters. I'd only spent a few years living in America, so my english reading ability was only somewhat limited, but I could recognize the word I-N-N.

"AT LAST!" I yelled out. "A SIGN I CAN READ!"

The group gave me a questioning glance.

"A sign you can read?" Snow repeated.

"Um...I was...em...talking about something else." I grinned stupidly.

The group brushed it off and walked into the building, while I mentally kicked myself for making myself look like an idiot.

Tifa approached the man at the reception counter. As she was talking to him, his attention kept switching between Tifa's face, and her boobs. It was pitifully obvious, and everyone could tell that Tifa was losing patience with him.

"We need rooms for...eleven." She was saying. "Actually, make that...10." She turned to us.

"Do you think that Rikku and Yuna will mind sharing a room?"

"Why not?" Snow said. "They're cousins. They won't mind."

"Keep it cheap." Cloud reminded his friend.

"That's what I'm doing. Let's see...Two people can share a room...To keep the cost low, maybe the girls and guys could share rooms for a while?"

"I don't need a room." Vincent said.

_"I bet its because he doesn't sleep."_ I thought, glancing at Vincent from the corner of my eye. As soon as I thought that, he glanced back and held his stare.

Now I was absolutely convinced that he could read minds!

I stopped staring at him and turned to face the reception desk, my heart pounding. I tried to think of something else, but my imagination kept drifting back to the idea of Vincent being an actual vampire, who slept in a coffin and sparkled in sunlight and hunted humans at night. I giggled to myself while trying hard not to make eye-contact.

"I don't need a room either." Red said. "I don't mind sleeping outside."

Tifa frowned. "Aw, Red! You don't have to-"

"Tifa?"

The group turned to see a young girl standing at the base of a stairwell. The girl was small and angelic. Her hair was about lower back's length and was styled into a long braid tied together with a pink hair bow. She was wearing a simple white dress with beige shoes. When she saw our group, her eyes were shining with happiness.

"Marlene!" Tifa smiled.

"Oh, she's so cute!" Vanille cooed.

"DADDY!" The girl saw Barrett then and sprinted towards him, her arms open and a wide smile spread across her face.

_"Daddy?!"_ I mentally shrieked.

"There's my girl!" Barrett laughed, kneeling down and opening up his arms to his kid. She leaped into them, and threw her arms around Barrett's neck. He hugged her back, with a genuine, satisfied look in his kind the all parents have when hugging their children.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" She said.

"You been a good girl?" Barrett asked his daughter. She stood back at arms length and nodded. "I've been a good, _good_ girl!" She nodded.

"MarLEEEEENE! You have to defend the castle and-"

A brown haired young boy with fashionably messy hair came thundering down the stairs, armed with a toy gun in his arm. He was wearing plain pants with a short sleeved no-button shirt, and wore a plain white T-shirt with overworn sneakers. When he saw us, he stopped mid-sentence and dropped his toy.

"Denzel! Look! Daddy's here!" The girl smiled.

"Cloud!" The boy smiled, running up to the blond SOLDIER. "You're back!"

"Sorry I took so long." Cloud grinned warmly at the boy and patted him on the head.

"What, am I? Chopped liver?" Tifa asked Denzel with a knowing grin on her face.

He turned to Tifa and gave her a quick hug, as it pained him to do so in front of Cloud.

"Good enough." The martial-artist shrugged.

"Denzel! My man!" Barrett greeted the boy and held his hand up for a high-five. Denzel enthusiastically returned it, with a smile spanning ear to ear. "Hey Barrett!" He said.

He then turned to Vincent and Red, and grinned. Red managed a faint grin back, and Vincent remained impassive. Denzel held out a hand to Vincent, who to my surprise returned it, afterwards kneeling to shake Red's paw. Then he turned to us.

He glanced at me with big eyes, unsure of what to say. He studied Vanille next. But When they drifted over to Snow, they popped out of his head.

"Hey, kiddo!" Snow grinned.

"Who are you?" He asked the way any curious little boy would.

"Name's Snow." He said, extending his hand to the kid. "You are?"

Denzel looked up at Cloud and waited for him to nod before he willingly took Snow's hand and shook it.

"Denzel!" The boy smiled.

"Nice to meet you." Snow nodded.

"Daddy!" Marlene said enthusiastically. "We made a new friend!"

"Yeah!" Denzel added quickly. "His name is-"

"Marleeeene? Denzel?" A little boy came slowly down the opposite staircase, with a toy in his hand that resembled some kind of yellow ostrich/chicken cross. He was also small and precious, dressed in blue overalls and a long-sleeved shirt. He had brown skin, and on his head was an afro that bounced as he walked down the stairs. For some reason, I felt something suddenly resonate in my heart, and then I automatically loved the kid.

"Dajh!" Snow and Vanille exclaimed.

"Hey, you're right!" Denzel said.

The little boy's eyes popped out of his head, and he ran to meet Vanille and Snow. He stopped in front of Snow with a smile on his face that melt even Sephiroth's heart-assuming he had one. The blond brawler quickly knelt down to talk to him at eye level, with a serious look on his face.

"You know him?" Marlene asked.

"Uh huh!" Dajh nodded at the girl. "They're daddy's friends! Snow and Vanille!"

"...But...how did you...how did you get here?" Snow asked incredulously.

"Fang brought me here." He said.

Vanille gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth. Snow blinked. I didn't know what the big deal was.

"Where is she now?!" Vanille shrieked. "Is she here?"

Dajh shook his head. "She left already."

"How long ago?" Snow asked.

"I dunnoooo..." The boy said thoughtfully. "Maybe...about a week?"

"Did she tell you where she was going?" Vanille asked.

"She said...something about Spira." The boy answered.

"How long have you been here?" Snow asked.

Little Dajh shrugged. "Dunno. A long time."

Cloud and the others looked at Snow and Vanille's shocked expressions with the same ignorance that I did.

"We've gotta tell Lightning." Snow finally said.

"I'll go find her right now!" Without waiting for someone to tell her to stop, she dashed out of the inn. I had an urge to follow her for some reason, but I didn't.

The receptionist cleared his throat then, reminding everyone of what we were doing here.

"You need rooms for how many?" He asked.

Tifa turned back to the man. "Sorry." She apologized.

Barrett released his daughter. "Go on and play." He said to her. The girl turned to Denzel and tugged him lightly on his shirt. "Come on you two!" She said to the boys. The kids then left the group, waiting momentarily to allow Denzel to pick up his toy gun before running back upstairs. I felt sad as I watched them leave for some bizarre reason.

"Okay so, Barrett can share a room with Marlene, Rikku can share a room with Yuna, Vincent and Red don't need a room, I can probably share a room with Lightning if she doesn't mind...That leaves rooms for Kimahri, Snow, Winter, Vanille and Cloud. You don't mind sharing a room with Vanille, do you?" Tifa asked me. In all honesty I did. But I couldn't tell her that, so I shook my head.

Tifa nodded. "You wouldn't mind sharing a room would you Snow, Cloud?" She asked the two blondes.

The two men turned to each other slowly, staring at the other with a straight face.

"...There's no other options?" Cloud asked.

"We could give you each a separate room, but that would cut into the budget by about 300 gil." Tifa said. "We'd have to cut down on weapon upgrades, and food for the most part."

The men were silent for a moment. I wanted _so badly _to just burst into laughter. Seeing their awkward faces was totally priceless!

"Those beds better be separate." Snow mumbled finally.

"If they're not, I'll slice them in half." Cloud said, placing his hand on the buster sword's handle.

* * *

Tifa grinned and turned back to the receptionist. "That'll be five rooms."

"You forgot Tidus and Kimahri!" I interupted after doing a quick finger count.

Tifa frowned. "Do you think they'll mind sharing a room?" She asked.

Kimahri didn't care, but when we told Tidus, he had on the same expression as Snow and Cloud.

"Sorry." Tifa apologized. "Budget cuts."

"If those guards hadn't taken my wallet..." Tidus sulked, sinking into his seat.

"I know." Tifa said in the most sympathetic way she could manage. "I'm so sorry."

"What the big deal?" I said cuurtly. "Isn't Kimahri a tiger? He's not even human!"

"Kimahri's a _ronso_. _Duh_. The heck's a tiger?!" He snapped. "And if that's how you feel, YOU sleep with him!"

I shook my head. "He's all yours."

Tidus gave me a disturbed look, and I flashed him a maniacal smirk. I didn't like Tidus _at all_. I found everything about him totally annoying. With the way he always had a pathetic smirk on his face, and how blunt he was, and how stupid his outfit looked-I mean he by far looked the most nerdy out of all of us, with his half-suspender half-highwater pants, and his shoes that looked like Timberlands crossed with crocks, and then there was his annoying, high-pitched, nasally voice!

Oh my _GOD_! That **VOICE**!

And while we were on the ship he just had this laugh that made me want to strangle newborn kittens, and tear out all my hair,

But that's probably what made him so fun to mess with.

Snow and Cloud had long since gone off to find a bar, and Vanille still hadn't come back from trying to find Lightning. Rikku was still sightseeing, but Yuna had gotten tired and Tidus got bored so he, Yuna and Kimahri found their way back to the inn. Barrett had retreated to his room, and Red XIII was hanging around the lobby. Vincent the vampire had disappeared. Tifa had been trying to talk to me before we saw Tidus walk in.

Once we broke the news to Tidus, I left him with Tifa. I went upstairs to go to my room, but an interesting scenario stopped me.

"-But I wanna play dolls!" A little girl was yelling.

"Dolls are stupid!" A young boy's voice yelled back.

I crept down the hallway until I stopped at a slightly opened door towards its center. I strained my neck to try and see through the crack in the door, as the voices sounded familiar.

Standing in the middle of the room were the three children from earlier. Marlene and Denzel were glaring at each other, and little Dajh was literally stuck between the two, caught in the midst of a battle of wills. The pained look on his face made it obvious that he would rather be forcing himself to be eating peas than be stuck with these two now.

"Dolls are NOT stupid!" Marlene yelled defensively.

"Well they're not as cool as playing soldier!" Denzel shot back.

"We've been playing soldier ALL DAY!" Marlene whined.

"Well if you don't want to play anymore that's fine! But Dajh is gonna play soldier with me! Cuz that's what BOYS do!" Denzel snatched up Dajh's hand, and the little boy made no effort to resist.

"Nu uh!" Marlene glared, and grabbed Dajh's other hand. "He's gonna play dolls with ME!"

"No, he's playing with ME!" Denzel yanked the boy to his side, tearing him out of Marlene's grasp.

She gasped, glared, and took Dajh's hand once more. Then she violently snatched him back over to her side and stuck her tongue out at Denzel. "No way! He's playing with ME!"

"No ME!" Denzel yanked Dajh again back towards himself.

"NO, ME!" Marlene pulled him right back.

"ME!"

"No ME!"

"He's playing with ME!"

"No! He's MY best friend!"

"He was MY best friend first!"

I watched the fight feeling helpless, wanting to intervene but not knowing how to go about it without seeming like a pushy, random stranger.

The battle finally ended with Denzel's victory when he succeeded in finally yanking Dajh so hard that the both of them fell over onto the rug. Denzel stood himself up, stuck his toungue out at Marlene, and quickly ran towards the door.

"Come on, Dajh! We don't play with girl toys!" He sneered.

Dajh looked helplessly at Marlene, who was standing in her place with a pout on her face and her arms tightly folded across her chest. Not knowing what else to do, he crawled over to Denzel. The two boys then left the room, and passed me without noticing my presence. Denzel was mumbling something angrily, and Dajh just looked lost.

"FINE!" Marlene ran to the door frame and yelled after the boys as they walked down the hallway. "GO PLAY YOUR STUPID GAME! I DON'T NEED YOU!" And with that, she slammed the door shut. Denzel rolled his eyes, and led Dajh downstairs by the arm.

I blinked.

Just as I was about to walk away and go tell Tifa, I heard sniffling coming from the kids' room. I felt compelled then to open the door, just to make sure that everything was okay.

I knocked first, but she didn't answer. I knocked again, waiting for her to yell something such as: "GO AWAY!", but she didn't. Soon after the sniffling, I began to hear sobbing; so I sucked in some air and invite myself in.

Marlene was sitting on one of the three beds in the room, holding a doll in her hand. She was sobbing, with tears streaming down her face and falling unhindered into her lap. I terrible for her, as though _I_ were the one who'd just gotten rejected.

She saw me come in, and didn't say anything. She wiped a few tears off of her face, but they were quickly replaced by more.

I smiled at her and stepped into the room.

"Does that usually happen?" I asked.

Marlene glanced at me several times from the corner of her eye before nodding "yes." I cocked my head knowingly at her. "Boys." I grinned, rolling my eyes. "Mind if I come in?"

She shook her head, so I took another shy step into the room and sat on the floor in front of her. She avoided eye contact with me.

I sat there in the middle of the room wondering how to console the child, when she suddenly spoke up.

"He does this all the time." She said. "He takes Dajh and plays 'soldier,' and then I have to play dolls all by myself. And Tifa wasn't here before, so I couldn't do anything about it..."

I nodded knowingly. "It's okay." I said. "It's just a guy thing."

Marlene sighed. "I hate being the only girl. It's like nobody ever wants to do the things I want to do, just cause I'm a girl."

"I know how that feels." I smiled.

"You do?" She asked curiously.

"Yup! Once, I used to be the only girl on an all-boy's soccer team."

"What's soccer?" Marlene asked.

I mentally facepalmed. "It's a kind of sport." I explained. "There are two teams, and two goals. The idea is to get the ball into the other team's goal by only using your feet."

Marlene's eyes widened. "That sounds hard!"

"It _is_ hard!" I said enthusiastically. "Especially when you're the only girl on the team, and the boys don't want to listen to you just because you're a girl! Even if you _are_ the team captain!"

"That's so mean!" Marlene glared.

"Yeah! We lost a lot of games because of that." I pouted, recalling the hell that those boys had but me through. "They were all a bunch of...of...weeners and gonads." I mumbled unintentionally.

Marlene exploded in a hearty laugh. "Gonads!" She exclaimed. "That's a funny word!"

I smiled. "Well they WERE!"

Marlene's laughter died down and she smiled at me. "So what did you do about those boys?" She asked.

"I showed them whose boss!" I said proudly. "They said: You have to prove that you're worthy of being our team captain by scoring a perfect goal on each one of us!"

"Did you do it?" Marlene asked excitedly.

"I sure did." I grinned. "They never gave me a problem again. After that day, they listened to me and we went the whole season undefeated. The next year, they asked me to be on the team again. But I turned 'em down. I was too good for them."

Marlene was smiling now, and her tears had stopped although she was still sniffling.

"You think if I prove myself to Denzel that he'll play dolls with me?" She asked hopefully.

"Maybe." I said. "But even if he doesn't he'll respect you enough to never say that dolls are stupid, ever again."

"Really?"

I nodded. "Really."

Marlene's smile melted into a determined game face. "Will you teach me how to play soccer?" She asked.

"Of course I will." I promised.

"YAY!" She jumpped off the bed and clapped her hands. "Thank you miss...miss..."

"Winter." I said.

"Thank you miss Winter!" She smiled.

"Just call me Winter." I grinned.

Marlene nodded and kneeled down to pick up a doll-baby that was lying at my side. She handed it to me with ahopeful look on her face. "Wanna play?" She asked.

I smiled and took the doll from her.

"Yeah!" I cheered.

* * *

"You're WHAT?" Snow shrieked.

Lightning stood with a straight face, her arms at her sides, staring dead on into the eyes of her partner. The two stood outside of the Kalm Inn, just off to the side where nobody would notice them. The sun was setting now, almost erased from the sky. As the two companions stood across from each other, there was a hint of tension between them. Although Lightning had been firm in her decision that she was about repeat to Snow, she was starting to get the gut feeling that things would end differently. Again.

"I said," she frowned. "That I'm leaving."

Snow just stared at her, dumbfounded for the second time that day since he'd gotten socked in the face. "...Run that by me again?"

"Don't play dumb with me." Lightning said curtly.

"I just don't get it, Light." Snow frowned. "We've been travelling together this entire time, so why now? We've got a bunch of people to help us-"

"For MY mission," Lightning interupted. "I just need an army of one."

Snow sighed and shook his head. "Why are you being so stubborn about this?"

"Because, when I told you back in Bodhum that I was siding with NORA, I had no intention of bringing down the government. I figured that if I put up with you for a while then you would lead me to Arsenic. But every time we get close to him, you get sidetracked and we lose him."

She clenched her fists and gave Snow a glare so cold, that for a split second he didn't realize who he was talking to.

"I don't care what the Shinra-Sanctum Alliance does to the rest of this god-forsaken planet once Arsenic's dead. The only thing that mattered most to me, they already took it away. I expected you of all people to understand that."  
Lightning quickly turned on her heel then, and took a step towards the town entrance.

_"Just keep walking..."_ She thought to herself. _"Don't let him hold you back..."_ But when he called out to her, she couldn't help herself when she suddenly stopped walking, and waited for him to speak.

_"What are you doing?!"_ She mentally scolded herself. _"Just go!"_

"...Wait, Lightning..." Snow said quietly.

Lightning glared at the ground. _"GO!"_ She screamed at herself. _"Why can't you just walk away?!"_

"I need to go with you." He finally mumbled.

"Oh?" She scoffed sarcastically. "And part with your little _puppy_? If I let you come with me, you have to forget about all of this. Forget these people, forget the that orphan, forget the prison break, forget everything. I'm serious Snow. You won't get in my way anymore."

Snow remained silent for a few moments, thinking over his options. He'd seen this scenario many times before in NORA, with previous members that had joined. They all started out the same way, eager to destroy the Sanctum/Shinra Alliance, but once something precious had been taken from them, their motives changed. Usually, it was that motive that ended up in either their death, someone else's death or both. Snow already knew where Lightning was headed, and although he couldn't figure out why, he was prepared to go with her. He had too. Despite everything that he had abandoned to get to this point however, there was something now that he couldn't leave just yet.

"I'll do whatever it takes..." he began. "..._But._.."

Lightning held her breath, knowing that he wouldn't say what she was hoping he wouldn't.

"I want you to teach Winter how to fight."

Lightning glared at the floor and took another step towards the exit.

"Please, Lightning, just do it! You can't leave her how she is, she'll get killed!" Snow yelled after her.

"So?!" Lightning shot, whirling around to face him.

"Won't you feel guilty knowing you could've help save her life?!" He'd said louder than he'd intended.

"If she dies, how will that affect _me_? Bringing her along was YOUR idea in the first place! If we would've just left her in New Braska like I said, we wouldn't have to deal with it!"

"You KNOW what Arsenic would've done to her if we hadn't come when we did!" Snow argued, taking several steps towards his partner.

"Well then either way she was dead! We bring her she's dead, we leave her she's dead, all you're doing is asking me to prolong the inevitable!" The PSICOM rogue yelled back. "If that kid really wants to get stronger, then she'll do it on her own like the rest of us did!"

The two stood in silence for a few moments, glaring at each other, as if trying to change the other's mind with their eyes. A few of the townspeople who were within earshot were giving them uncomfortable looks, although neither of the two realized, or cared.

Lightning regained her composure and straightened up. She turned once more, and walked only a few steps away before she suddenly felt Snow's gloved hand grab onto her wrist, stopping her in her tracks from surprise. She snapped her head back around to shoot Snow a hateful glare, until she saw the pained look on his face.

"Please..." He begged.

Lightning blinked and snatched her hand away.

"Just do this as a favor for me...I don't think that she wants a part of this anymore than anyone else. If you just do this for me, I swear I'll do whatever you say. I'll forget everything that's happened up to now and we can go avenge Serah together."

Lightning sighed.

"You've said that before..." She mumbled.

* * *

"Would you like tea, Renadi?" Marlene asked my doll.

"Give me more tea now, Mrylissle!" My doll demanded.

"Ranadi!" Marlene scolded. "I've told you before to ask politely when asking for tea! Ask again or I'm going to give it all to mister bear! He's a gentleman!"

"Sorry..." My doll moped. "_Please_ give me more tea now?"

"Good enough." Marlene's doll sighed, pouring my selfish toy yet another cup of tea. I couldn't help but smile as I sat cross-leeged on the mat. It brought back memories...

I sighed. _Mom just HAD to have boys, didn't she?!_

**SLAM!****!**

Marlene and I jumpped and our heads snapped to the door, which had just been violently thrown open. Standing in the door frame was Lightning, who as usual didn't look very happy. Marlene and I stared at her in silence, and she stared back.

Just as I was about to ask if there was a problem, that I would probably be useless in solving, Lightning took a pistol that was similar to the one Sephiroth had crushed to pieces out of her leg pouch and tossed it to me. I tried to catch it, but it bounced out of my hands and landed on the ground. Marlene and I glanced at it, then looked back at Lightning for an explanation.

"6:30. I'll be waiting outside of the city. You'd better not be late." She said firmly, turning and walking away.  
Marlene and I just turned to each other.

"Does that mean there's no more soccer?" She whimpered.

* * *

I assured Marlene that I would play soccer with her no matter what, and we continued to play dolls for another thirty minutes, until we moved on to playing house. Eventually, Tifa came into the room with Denzel and Dajh and told the kids it was time for bed. I took my leave while Marlene was begging Tifa to let her stay up a bit longer, and retreated to my room.

I was surprised to see Vanille in there already asleep on a bed on the opposite corner of the room when I came in. Then I remembered the budget cuts, and shrugged it off. "Must be late now..." I thought to myself as I slipped my boots off and placed them quietly in my corner of the room along with the sword and pistol Lightning had given me.  
I plopped into my bed and sighed, officially exhausted. While recalling the events of the day, I couldn't help but wonder if things were going to get anymore tiresome. So far, I'd broken all of my parent's "don'ts" for me. I had run off with strangers, talked back to a superior, held a gun, free-falled and even gone to prison. There's something mom and dad never thought. I was a wanted man - er, _woman_.

"Sorry guys..." I mumbled.

"Winter?"

Vanille turned over in her bed, fully awake.

"You're awake!" I exclaimed, stating the obvious. "Did I wake you up?!"

"I was never asleep." She admitted. "I'm too excited!"

"Why?" I asked, thinking it had something to do with Lightning and her telling me to wake up at ungodly hours of the morning.

"Because Fang's alive." She whispered happily.

"...Who's Fang?"

"She's my best friend, but she acts more like my mother."

"Ah," I said with a nod. "That must be nice."

"Mhm!"

"...We all thought she'd died in a scouter ship crash." Vanille said solemnly after a few minutes of silence. "But apparently she's alive. And Dajh says she's looking for me..." She heaved an exasperated sigh. "I hope she's safe now..."

I found myself wondering the same thing about my family. Over the course of the last few days, I had unconsciously started to accept that this really wasn't a dream. I'd been wondering about what everyone else had been talking about with this world merge. Although it seemed like a _somewhat_ logical explanation, it didn't...make any sense. And taking back what I'd said, it was totally illogical according to every scientific law I'd ever heard of. World Merge...of all the crazy nonsense...

"Winter? Are you asleep?"

"Eh? N-no." I said, coming back into "reality".

"You were so quiet. I thought I'd bored you to sleep!"

I felt guilty but wanted to laugh at the same time. "Sorry." I apologized. "When you mentioned being safe, I started to think about my family..."

"Oh!" Vanille nodded.

"How long have you and Fang been friends?" I asked her.

"How long? Hmmm..." Vanille turned onto her back and folded her hands across her midsection. "Well, back before our world was merged, there was Pulse and there was Cocoon. Fang and I grew up on Gran Pulse during the time of a war. We both lost our families because of the Cocoon Fal'cie and Cocoon L'cie when we were very young. We met at an orphanage, and we've been friends ever since."

"That's special..." I agreed. "I think people who are able to keep friends from childhood are blessed."

"Ya think so?" She asked.

"Yeah. Those kinds of things don't happen often..." I said.

Vanille smiled up at the ceiling then and nodded.

"Yeah." She agreed.

* * *

**Training is about to begin! The Ultimate Battle of wills is brewing, what happens next?**

**Find out in the next chapter of _White Snow Dimensia!_**

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

****"How I met your Mother" reference FTW.  
**

****"Twilight Reference" FTW.**

**** I mean no disrespect to lovers of Tidus. Or kittens. I love kittens :D**

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

****Hooray! Chapter 12 is up and ready! **

****Good news! Over the weekend I had a visit from the plot bunny and I wrote all the way up to chapter 19! :D I'm souped! Looks like this story's gonna be pretty involved. **

****Was I the only one who laughed so hard that I couldn't breathe when I heard that laugh scene in FFX? At first I said :\ "Square, WTF?" But then I listened to it again after I finished the game and I just...I died lol. It was the laugh I was thinking about when writing Winter's rant.**

****Thank you very much everyone for your views and for reading. When I see that people are reading my story, I get worried but also happy. So thank you. I appreciate it. **

****Don't forget to R&R! **

**-Kamikimmy13**


	14. Chapter 13 - Training Begins

_**CHAPTER 13**_

* * *

_"Daddy?!" I shrieked, grabbing onto my father's pant leg and tugging wildly. "What's happening to mommy?!"_

_Dad had been dazed for the past several hours. Ever since he'd found mom collapsed in the shed, he just hadn't been able to speak. When I came home from pre-school that day, she had been fine. She was walking around, smiling, and trying to tell me how excited she was that the baby was coming._

_"It's a girl?!" I'd shrieked excitedly._

_"That's right." Mom smiled. "You'll have a cute little sister to play dolls with."_

_I could hardly contain my excitement. At four years old, what girl wouldn't be excited to hear that they would be having a sibling? The fact that it would be a girl that I would finally be able to play dress up with was an added plus. It was the best Christmas present that anyone could give a lonely single child. I'd practiced my writing for months, so that Santa would be able to read legible handwriting when he looked at my Christmas list. There was only one thing on it this year:_

_"Please let mommy and Dani-chan be born safely."_

_I'd written it only a few weeks earlier on an index card in the biggest handwriting possible._

_"Winter," Dad laughed. "Only Dani can be born safely. "Mommy can't be born twice."_

_"Oops!" I shrieked, realizing my error with guilt. "Oh my! What would Santa think?!"_

_"He might be confused, but I think he'd understand eventually." Dad had assured me._

_Mom had been so sparkling and radiant in the last month that even I could notice it at my tender age. I'd given her several compliments over the course of the weeks, and she only became more beautiful as the days grew closer._

_I remember that day well. It was cold that year...Mom had never been fond of the cold, but she was a hard worker. She would get things done no matter the weather nor the temperature. She seemed to believe that if she worked hard throughout her pregnancy, then Dani would be born hard-working too._

_I ran into the living room, my arms practically spilling over with colored-pencils and printer paper, and got to work on making a colorful drawing for my new little sister. I was so excited...I wished she was by my side right now, so I could hug her and introduce her to the new world. I wanted my name to be the first thing she said..._

_Half an hour later, I was starting to get hungry. I put my coloring tools down and dashed into the kitchen to find mommy so she could make me a snack. She wasn't there. I checked her bedroom then. she wasn't there. I went to the basement and to the attic, to the bathroom and to the laundry room. She wasn't in the house at all. She hadn't told me she was leaving, so where could she be?_

_I walked out of the house through the front door. Mom's gardening tools were lying stationary in the grass, but Shirayuki Mariko was nowhere to be found. Confused, I walked past them and towards the back of the house, into the shed. Lo and behold, there was mom. On the floor. Completely still._

_I was terrified, and wasted no time in sprinting back into the house._

_"Winter, remember, if you're ever in trouble and something happens in the house, call 911 okay?"_

_"Hello?!" I cried to the officer on the other end of the phone once they'd picked up._

_"This is the police, what's your emergency?"_

_"Please help, mommy's not moving!"_

_Dad came home five minutes after I'd hung up. When I told him the story, I watched as the panic spread across his face, and he immediately ran to the shed. Ten minutes after I'd hung up, paramedics were loading mom's limp body onto a stretcher. The baby was several minutes away from arrival, and mom's contractions combined with her anemia and stubbornness contributed to her ending up in a heap on the floor. Dad was allowed to stay in the ambulance with mom, but I was escorted in a police van because I was so young. The cops had assured me that everything was fine, and that my sibling was coming soon so I should be happy. It cheered me up yes, but something about seeing mom lying helplessly on the floor had awakened something in my heart that I couldn't identify._

_I met dad at the emergency room, The police took me to him. When I got there, dad was lying dormant in the waiting room, with a faraway look in his eyes. I was excited to see him, and I kept calling his name, but he didn't snap out of it until I asked: "What's happening to mommy?!"_

_Dad smiled at me, picked me up and sat me in his lap. "Nothing, peach." He said soothingly. "Dani's coming. Aren't you excited?"_

_"Yeah!"_

_We were in the emergency room for another several hours, and I was so excited that I couldn't sleep-although it was well past midnight. I was rubbing my eyes in fatigue, but I forced myself to stay awake. I wanted to see my sweet little sister._

_A doctor finally came into the room with a clipboard in his hand, an icy and expressionless look on his face. As he summoned for dad to come, I felt something strange. There was no warmth in his eyes at all, and although I didn't realize it, I felt it._

_Dad came into the room several minutes later, and without acknowledging my presence, he sat back down on the chair with his hands folded, staring into space. I was scared to approach him, but my nosiness overcame that, so I asked._

_"Daddy? Where's Mommy? Is Dani okay?"_

_After a few moments of stillness from dad, he suddenly reached down and pulled me up into a tight hug. I'll never forget the despair in his voice when he said to me:_

_"It was a still birth. Dani...is gone..."_

_At four, I didn't understand the permanence of death. When dad had said she was gone, I was wondering where she went. Several years later I found out what a still-birth was. But that year of 4 was the last that my parents mentioned Santa Clause to me. Two months later, I buried my letter to Santa with Dani at her funeral._

_...But by then, I had figured out on my own that Santa did not exist._

* * *

I jolted upright in my bed, shivering. My clothes, my sheets, my everything was soaking wet with ice cold water. When I looked up, the first person I saw standing over me was Tidus, with a small, wooden bucket in his hand and a pathetic smirk on his face. If it had been any other person, I wouldn't have had such an overwhelming desire to punch his nose back into his head.

"Morning!" He said cheerfully.

"You son of a bitch!" I greeted him curtly. "What was that for?!"

"It's 6:00am." He said, beckoning with his head to the window above my bed. Outside it was pitch-black, as if it were still early in the night. I took a quick glance at it, and then glared back at Tidus.

"You couldn't wake me up like a normal human being?!" I shrieked.

"Oh, I tried everything." He said, letting the bucket drop onto my bed. "You sleep like the dead, woman!"

"You're gonna join them if you don't get out of my face right now." I growled.

"I wouldn't worry so much about me," Tidus strutted over to the door and reclined on the doorframe. "I'd worry more about what Lightning will do to you if you keep her waiting. She seemed pretty serious when she told me to wake you up this morning."

"_She_ told you to dump water on my head?!"

"At first I didn't wanna do it," Tidus admitted. "It seemed like too much trouble. But then she said: 'Do whatever it takes.' And then I just couldn't resist."

I felt myself twitch. "I don't have anymore clothes to change into!"

"Pity." Tidus shrugged, walking towards the door. "I heard it's gonna be pretty hot today so don't worry! You'll air-dry!" He yelled to me from down the hallway.

I glared in the spot he'd been standing in. "That blond haired, pretentious ASSHOLE!" I yelled to the four walls as I stormed out of bed and grabbed up my sword, boots, and pistol-the only dry things on me.

As I walked out of the inn, I felt miserable, like a wet cat. My hair tended to poof up when it got wet. Sometimes it fixed itself, other times it stayed poofy. Over time though, it usually ended up back in its tightly wavy/curly texture. God knows what this freaky atmosphere would do to it though.

I walked through the barely-lit town square until I finally found my way to the city gate. When I got there, Lightning was waiting. I approached her with caution, making my presence known with a barely audible, "...I'm here..."

She turned when she saw me, as if snapping out of a daydream.

"Where's the Blazefire Saber." She demanded in a no-nonsense tone.

_"Is that what it's called?" _I thought as I unsheathed it and let it straighten into a sword, then held it out to show her.

"Here." I said.

"And the gun?"

I patted my holster. "Here." I said.

"How far can you run?" She asked.

"Um-" I began.

"No um." She cut me off. "If you talk to me with an 'um' in your sentence then I didn't hear it. Got it?"

I blinked, and nodded slowly.

"A nod isn't an answer." She continued. "You need to answer me with clarity when I talk to you, or else I didn't hear it. Is that understood?"

_"What is this? Boot camp?!" _I gave Lightning a confused look. "Yes." I said.

"Yes, _what?"_

"Yes sir!"

Lightning narrowed her eyes at me.

"How far can you run." She asked again.

"I don't run." I said flatly.

Lightning blinked. "Then I hope you've got a Pheonix Down." She finally said, walking away from the gate and towards the wasteland. I followed her, wondering what she meant. Little did I know, that by the time this 'training session' was over, I would be well acquainted with Pheonix downs.

Training: DAY ONE

Lightning dragged me five miles out of the city on foot, and by the time we had crossed the desert and scaled the cliff overlooking the city that was to serve as the rendezvous point, she was pretty much dragging me along, coming just short of having to carry me in a box.

When I collapsed onto the ground, coughing, panting, and wheezing, Lightning showed me no sympathy.

"Stop being dramatic." She said coldly.

I turned my face and rolled my eyes at her.

"Get up." She ordered.

"When I can feel my legs again, I'll be happy to stand up for you." I mumbled loud enough for her to hear.

Without warning, Lightning fired her gunblade into the air, causing me to jump and immediately look up at her. She then pointed the gunblade _at me_, looking upon my frail and lifeless form with a murder in her glare.

"Get up. _Now_." She said firmly.

I immediately stood up.

"Until further notice, you're going to be here everyday at 6:30." Lightning explained, pacing the area in front of me in a sergeant-like fashion. "Before the end of this week, you'll know how to use the Blazefire Saber and fire a pistol. When you come here, be ready to work. You will work out until you're body feels like its on the brink of death and you'll fire so many bullets that you'll hear them in your dreams."

_"Well my body already feels like it's on the brink of death!" _I thought. _"How much more dead could I possibly feel?!"_

"Everyday you come here, you'll do whatever set of exercises I have for you that day. You'll do _all_ of them, because you won't sleep unless you do," Lightning continued. "After that you'll do sword and gun training, and if I'm happy, then you get to leave. If I'm not, then you do it over until I am. I don't repeat myself, and I don't do whining. There's only one rule. Do as I say, but not as I do. Understood?"

"Sure."

"Excuse me?" She raised her eyebrow, as if I'd just insulted her.

"Um...yes sir?"

Lightning sighed and shook her head. "On your knees. I want 20 pushups."

"20! I can't do 20! I can barely do one and a half!"

Lightning shot her gun in the air again, and I jumped.

"Now I want 40."

"I am NOT doing 40 pushups lady!" I argued. My ears were rattled once more with the sound of that bloody gunblade firing more bullets.

"And now it's 60."

"You're out of your mind! And for god's sake! Would you stop randomly firing that thing?! It-!"

"80. We can do this all day. And when I say you won't sleep or eat until you do EVERYTHING, I'm _not _bullshitting you."

I believed her. So instead of digging my grave deeper, I decided to get on all fours and attempt to do girl pushups, until Lightning stopped me and demanded that I do _"normal" _pushups.

It took me just about 2 hours, but I finally completed all 80 pushups. Once that was done, she had me do squats, sit ups, jumping jacks, abdominal crunches, toe reaches, Russian twists, and a myriad of other things that I didn't even know existed.

By the time we were done, I wanted to kill myself.

* * *

**It's day one! Training Begins! Stay tuned for the next chapter of ****_White Snow Dimensia!_**

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

****Sorry I took forever updating this chapter. Truthfully, its been saved on my PC for months now, but I wanted to make absolutely certain that there was nothing I wanted to change. I also struggled with the chapter content, and trying to figure out how to split up the training days.**

****Love this chappie. Next to the end of 3 and all of 4, its my fave x3**

****Lulz, am I the only one who listens to music while I'm writing these? I just feel like its easier to put yourself in the characters shoes when you do. I listened to a music box version of "Sanctuary" when I wrote the flashback, and it was epic =U**

****I think this is the shortest chapter so far.**

****I wrote up to Chapter 23! I'm happy to see that people are still reading even though I haven't updated in a while. I thank you, and I thank the plot bunny. Just send a review my way and you'll make me very happy :D**

****There was a 1 day delay in updating this chapter. I meant to put it up yesterday but fanfiction was being a douche! **

**Thank you for reading!**

**-Kamikimmy13**


	15. Chapter 14 - Operation SILVER

_**CHAPTER 14**_

* * *

_Several footsteps thundered down the halls of the SOLDIER Palompolum outpost. Alarms were blaring, the hallways flashing red as the fugitives sprinted towards the airship runways, only a few feet now from freedom. SOLDIER guardians were hot on their tail now, ordering them with a megaphone to stop running. Several of them were armed with machine guns, shooting at them. _

_"You okay!?" Vanille asked the silver haired boy whose hand was locked in hers. _

_"I'm fine! You?!" _

_"Just peachy!" _

_"This way!" A dark haired woman ordered the group. The four fugitives quickly darted around a corner, and burst through the door leading to the outpost hangar. _

_"SAZH! NOW!" The woman yelled to the older, dark-skinned man who was following closely behind her. _

_"Alright!" He nodded."You grab a ship, I'll hold 'em back!" _

_"You better not try anything heroic! We're all gettin' outta here alive!" She yelled to him, grabbing Vanille and the silver-haired boy by the hand and pulling them off to a patrol ship._

_"I summon, BRYNHILDR!" He yelled, taking out an orange crystal and tossing it into the air. As it came down, he shot at it, causing a spectacle of fire and orange light that engulfed the hangar. A red, iron-clad warrior appeared, armed with a battle gun/axe. Vanille looked back for a split second, with the urge to break away and join her friend in the fight. Before she could do that though, the woman had broken into a patrol ship and practically shoved the girl in. _

_"Hey!" She shrieked as she fell onto her back on the seat, followed by her silver-haired friend. _

_The battle with the soldiers had ended as quickly as it had begun, and soon the man had joined Fang in the airship. The four wasted no time in rocketing off of the runway. The minute they took off, however, they realized they had company. _

_Vanille did a double-take out of the window when she noticed three Soldier patrol ships tailgating theirs. "Sazh! We've got trouble!" Vanille yelled to the pilot. Everyone quickly turned their heads to their pursuers, and the brown-skinned man kicked the airship into high speed. _  
_The three enemy ships sped up along with them, and were preparing to overtake them. two of them began to shoot lasers at the ship, which Sazh maneuvered around with his top-tier piloting skills. _

_"Hang on!" He warned the passengers as he steered the ship upwards, looping behind the enemy ships. He mashed several buttons at once on the control panel, which released high-speed lazer beams back at the three airships. _

_"GO SAZH!" Vanille cheered as he picked off the ships one by one. After some fancy sharp-shooting, all three of the enemy ships had been sent kareening towards the ground. It seemed as though the group was in the clear, and they all cheered in relief. But Just as they were starting to believe that it was all over, a warning siren starting blaring in the airship. _

_The dark-haired woman's eyes immediately shot towards the ship's radar. A minuscule blinking red light showed up on its screen, and was rapidly making its way towards the radar's center._

_"Those bastards left us a parting gift!" She grinned angrily. _

_"What do we do?!" The young silver-haired boy shrieked._

_"What CAN we do?!" The dark-haired pilot yelled back. "It's an infrared-homing missle! It'll just keep going until it hits its us!" _

_"We need to abort the ship!" Vanille yelled. _

_"And fall to our death?!" The silver-haired boy yelled back. _

_"Now or never! We're all getting out of here alive!" The dark-haired woman shoved open the hatch, the air hitting them all at once, with such force that it stifled their ability to breathe. "Who's first?!" _

_Suddenly, two more missiles emerged from the single homing missile's body and shot at blinding speed towards the airship. Before Sazh could even react, one of them shot the left wing clean off the ship's body, and the other one tore through the floor and left a sizeable hole in the control panel, making the ship tilt precariously onto it's side. _

_The pilot ducked onto the floor, the dark-haired woman took cover behind a seat, and the silver-haired boy was knocked onto the floor and sent rolling into the ship's side. Vanille however, hadn't been standing within close enough range to grab onto a seat for cover, and when the second missile hit, she fell forward and out of the airship. _

_"VANILLE!" The dark-haired woman screamed, grabbing for the girl. _

_"FAAANG!" _

_As she was free-falling towards the ground, the final homing missile collided with the rear end of the ship. It exploded in a spectacle of fiery, metal confetti, its spoils falling to the earth like rain. _

_"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Vanille screamed, her eyes widening at the sight. _

_"FAANG! FAAAAAAAANG!"_

* * *

"Fang? **Fang!"**

Her head quickly shot up from the desk. She stared ahead of her for a second, trying to focus on the hazy figures before her before she slowly turned her head to the left and right, acknowledging her surroundings and trying to remember where she was.

"Are we boring you Fang?" A raven-haired man clad in a navy-blue suit at the end of the lengthy business table raised an eye at the swordswoman. His hands were primly folded across the desk, and the weight of his glare was heavy.

"...What?" Fang mumbled, still not quite conscious.

"Can you blame her?" A red-haired young man muttered from a couple of seats to the right of Fang. "This is boring as hell, we've talked this operation over 1,000 times already..."

"Reno!" A blonde woman snapped at him from across the table.

A large-built man sitting opposite the raven-haired figure cleared his throat and pushed his sunglasses up to the bridge of his nose. "When the boss speaks," He said, raising his voice slightly above his norm to address the people in the room. "It's in everyone's best interest to listen."

"I'm with Reno." A young man with sand-colored, spiky hair sat in his chair with a passive look on his face, resting one hand in his arm and drawing imaginary pictures on the table with his free hand. As soon as he said this he slammed his arm down and glared at the other 5 individuals in the room. "Can we just get the _damn thing_ done already?!"

The sudden noise was just the thing Fang needed to jolt her fully awake. All at once, she remembered where she was, who she was with, and what she was doing there.

"Operation SILVER." The raven-haired man said. "We'll run through it once more." Those words earned a groan and a sigh from the two restless operatives.

"Reno! Xavier!" He glared. "As members of the Turks, it is your duty and responsibility to take part in all missions placed on us by the S.S Alliance! It's YOUR job to make certain that you understand the mission clearly and that you don't screw it up! You already know what's at stake!"

Fang eyed the two boys. Reno and Xavier. And the rest of The Turks.

There were six of them in total, including Fang. There was Tseng, the leader of the group and his partner, Elena. After them came Reno and Rude, and finally Fang and her partner, Xavier, who was going to be going into his 2nd month as an official operative of the Turks. The others had been in the organization for years, and were seasoned operatives and fighters.

Despite all of the changes that the government had underwent throughout the whole World Merge incident, the Turks branch had managed to stay the same for the most part. After Shrina and the Sanctum combined, a "Cocoon" Branch and a "Spira" branch was soon added to the original Turks organization. Although everyone else that conjoined managed to somehow find a way to tolerate one another, the Turks simply could not adjust.

During missions, there was often talk of some kind of "accident" occurring where someone's partner ended up "mysteriously" dead, large incidents of "friendly" fire, betrayals, insubordination, pettiness, and overall hatred for the other's origins. Eventually a de-facto rule was passed within the Turks organization that everyone would stay with whichever world they belonged to. It had been a miracle that Fang was able to be accepted into the Gaia Branch of the Turks, and it had only been because she was already a seasoned fighter and had the ability to summon. Those perks allowed her entry into the branch with little struggle.

Although Rufus, The Supreme Maester, and Dysley knew about the social divide within the Turks and disagreed with it, they left it alone. The self-harm was interfering with missions to the point where it was becoming a serious issue; so The S. quietly turned the other cheek. To Fang, all of the corruption was just a minor hindrance. She wasn't here because she wanted to be.

Cocoon was by far the most technologically advanced world of the three, however Gaia seemed to be the most powerful. They had more access to the inner-workings of the New World, (being its self-proclaimed capital), and in hand-to-hand combat, Gaia hands down had better soldiers. The Cocoon soldiers relied too much on machinery to win their fights, and the Spirans were the smallest in population. However, in all fairness, the Gaians had "cheated" by re-implementing the Super Soldier Program post World Merge, where they injected mako energy into their soldiers. It was because of the strength and perks alone that the Gaians had that Fang had chosen to fight alongside them. Those advantages would help her find _"the others"_ quicker...

Xavier, her partner, was a very strange boy in a sense. The sandy-haired Turk was young, exactly 19 years of age to be exact. He was 5'10 and of a muscular build, but a comfortable kind of muscular, not bulky or totally ripped. He was a quiet one in a way, refusing to tell anyone about his personal life, or for what reason he'd joined the Turks. He was sarcastic, and boyish for his age. He wielded two crescent-shaped, spiked, dual-swords, and he absolutely refused to wear his uniform correctly. He rolled up and pinned the sleeves of his suit-jacket so that they sat a little ways above the bend of his elbow, he always wore his dress-shirt slightly unbuttoned with only one of its flaps tucked in, sported a loose tie, and he'd purposely gotten pants that were somewhat small for him, so that they weren't as loose as the other Turks'. He also wore a chain attached to his pants although it was an infringement on the dress code.

Fang scoffed at those word. _Dress Code._ In order to cover up her Cocoon/Gran Pulse heritage, Fang had been obligated to surrender her comfortable sari for a suit and tie that didn't flatter her at all. She chose to wear her suit jacket around her waist when she wasn't in the building. It still didn't look "cute", but it looked _better._

"Yes sir." Xavier and Reno answered Tseng reluctantly.

The Turk leader cleared his throat. "Operation Silver," He started once more. "Will take place at the National Hall of Spira in Bevelle. We've been asked to investigate the meeting there, as President Shinra believes, and our intelligence sources have hinted at, the possibility of a planned conspiracy. Also, we've received new orders from General Arsenic to seek out a group of rebels and spy on them from within their group."

"New rebels?" Xavier asked, his attention now fully grasped.

"Yes." Tseng replied. "Allegedly, the fugitives that escaped the prison were seen escaping in an air ship with some wanted criminals. Farron and Villiers were one of them...along with Strife...Lockheart...Valentine, and a couple others that we didn't recognize."

Fang's ears perked up.

"Aw, Cloud turned on us?" Reno shook his head.

"Cloud was never really with us." Elena, the blond that had scolded Reno earlier, had said.

"Well he was...but then the World Merge happened and then he kind of just..." Rude's voice faded into the distance. The subject of Cloud and his crew pre-World Merge was a touchy one for these Turks still...

"Who's Cloud?" Xavier asked, dumbly.

"An ex-Soldier." Reno explained. "He defeated Sephiroth."

Xavier raised an eyebrow, As did Fang. Cloud? Sephiroth? She had only been in the organization for three weeks. "Sephiroth" was a popular name among the organization, and she'd heard it passed around often between various members. That name was said to be taboo. However this was the first time she'd heard of anyone named Cloud, but apparently he was travelling with Lightning, and Lightning had broken into Sector-Zero Prison and rescued Vanille. So, putting two-and-two quickly together, Fang deduced that where there was Cloud, there was Vanille. And possibly Sazh and Hope as well...

"And Sephiroth is...?" Xavier pressed.

"Oh, right. You're from Spira..." Reno reminded himself, turning to Fang. "So I guess you don't know who he is either?"

Fang shook her head. "I've heard his name around here but I don't know who he's supposed to be."

"It's a very long story." Tseng said. "In short, Sephiroth was the top Soldier General before he had a very catastrophic fall from grace. He is very powerful. To this day, only Cloud has been able to beat him."

"Don't you mean '_was?_'" Elena asked. "Sephiroth's long dead. He had to be in order to complete the World Merge."

Tseng shook his head. "I'm afraid that Sephiroth is very much alive."

That earned a gasp from everyone in the room, except for Fang and Xavier.

"Is that a bad thing?" Xavier asked.

"That's a HORRIBLE thing!" Elena shrieked.

Tseng pressed a button on his armchair and turned sideways to face the screen that was coming down from the ceiling. Everyone else then turned their seats around to pay attention.

"That's the other part of SILVER I wanted to talk to you about. It was implemented into our original mission just yesterday. I was informed by General Arsenic."

Tseng pressed another button on the armchair and an image popped up onto the screen. It was blurry, and only in black and white. So far, it depicted only a room. Within it were several experimental test tubes and pods, and a control panel to operate them. There were stained glass windows lining the walls. Fang stared at the video, squinting, waiting for something to happen.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a large door creaking open, and footsteps. A few seconds later, a man walked into the middle of the room, armed with an unnecessarily long katana. He was clad in black, dressed in the uniform of what looked to Fang like a high-ranking Soldier member. His hair was white in the video, and it fell to just about the very bottom of his back. He continued to walk up to the control panel very...slowly...

...And when he finally approached it, _that's_ when a prison alarm was activated.

Normal intruders would have started looking around their surroundings frantically for some kind of escape, call for backup, or said something along the lines of "CRAP! I'm caught!" But this one was different. He moved not one muscle.

Moments later, several groups of Soldiers armed with machine guns burst through the doors of the room, and opened-fire. The man with the white hair sprang into action. Within a couple of minutes, every single one of the soldiers was dead, and lying in their own blood. Fang tensed at the horror of it all, as she watched the man take out Soldier after Soldier. Eventually, they just stopped coming. And once they were all dead, the man simply turned back to face the machines. He only stared at them. Nothing more.

"What's he doing now?" Reno asked.

"It's like he's waiting for somebody..." Xavier noted for nobody in particular.

Five minutes later, after watching the white-haired swordsman stare at nothing, the door creaked again.

_"They sent more Soldiers after all THAT?"_ Fang asked herself incredulously.

The door quickly slammed shut, followed by an explosion and a feminine shriek. The owner of the voice stumbled into the camera's view, tripped over a dead body, and screamed again.

"Wait a minute!" Reno gasped, holding up a finger as the light-bulb in his head clicked. "I've seen that girl before! Just...can't remember where..."

Xavier just blinked.

"We do think that Sephiroth may have some kind of connection to this one. Just watch." Tseng said.

The girl sat on the floor cowering in fear. She looked around the room, staring in disbelief at the scenery, until she finally saw Sephiroth. At that moment, he turned around and faced the girl. When he started to walk towards her, she immediately reacted by backing away. She whipped out a pistol (that she clearly didn't know how to use) and pointed it at him, and screaming words of what sounded like a warning. Although muffled, Fang was able to make out the sounds: _"DON'T...CO...SER!" _

She backed out of the camera's view, and Sephiroth followed her until he too was out of view. There was some muffled talking between the two then. Some seconds later, there was the sound of something getting crushed, metal clanging against the ground, and a few minutes after that, footsteps. Running.

When the girl came back into view, she had come flying. She slid across the ground and rolled over the floor until she slammed violently into the control panel, denting it and causing a visible short-circuit. She struggled to sit up, but she was quickly denied of that when Sephiroth came out of nowhere and pinned the child to the ground with his foot. There was more inaudible talking before he then sliced into the girl's arm with his sword.

Then, there was the sound of a door being violently slammed open, followed by an actual door flying across the room and into camera's view. A young man in all black carrying a large sword dashed across the room, followed by a young woman with black hair as they went to war with the silver haired man. Bullets were fired from off-screen as the girl rolled away from the fray, and sat herself up on a nearby pillar.

Fang instantly recognized Lightning, Snow, and Vanille as they ran to the girl and tried to help her up. Lightning said something to her.

_"So she knows Light and the crew, eh?"_ Fang thought.

Minutes later, the floor in the room was beginning to collapse. The footage died and faded into blackness just as everyone was starting to run away. Tseng clicked the video off and turned back to face the table, as did everyone else.

"Did anyone realize anything interesting about that?" He asked.

"How did he get into that room?!" Elena asked.

"_Why _did he get into that room? And then stare at machinery until security came?" Reno asked.

"Why didn't he kill that girl too?!" Xavier asked, sounding disturbed. "He killed everyone else!"

"That's what we would like to know." Tseng said, nodding at Xavier. "The girl in the video that you saw is named Winter. She is guessed to be around the age of 16-17 years old, and is approximately 5 feet even. She had a run-in with General Arsenic and said some controversial things, so now she's wanted for treason to the government."

"Is she really that hard to catch?" Xavier scoffed. "The kid can't fight for shit."

"She isn't the problem. It's the fugitives she's with." Tseng replied. "Our new mission of Operation SILVER includes investigating the Maester's Meeting in Spira, Investigating Sephiroth's motives, and eradicating Farron and everyone else she's with."

"I hope he doesn't expect us to investigate his motives up close." Xavier mumbled. She didn't want to say it allowed, but in the back of her mind, Fang knew she was thinking the same thing.

"We might be required to if that's what the situation calls for." Tseng said.

Xavier let out a single hearty laugh. "Did you see what he did to those soldiers?! I don't want that problem!"

"It is our duty." The black haired Turk said plainly. "Speaking of duties, since Sephiroth's sudden appearance, the President has announced that he will be going into hiding, and working from the sidelines while the Sanctum Primarch takes over momentarily."

"That's...Understandable." Elena said.

Tseng nodded. "That about wraps it up. Are there any questions on Operation Silver?" He asked.

Everyone shook their head, although they all - Tseng included - had all kinds of questions that just couldn't be answered at the time.

"The Beginning of the Operation will start soon, possibly after the meeting with the Vice President. We're going to head through Kalm first to stock up on minor supplies, and change ships there. Then we'll head off to Spira." Tseng announced.

_"That reminds me,"_ Fang thought. _"I have to head back there anyway to pay Dajh's hotel fee..."_

"Meeting adjourned."

* * *

_**Sephiroth is on the loose, the fugitives have escaped, there's talk of treason in Spira, and the Turks are going to Kalm? **_

_**That can't possibly be good!**_

_**What happens next? Stay tuned for the next chapter of "White Snow Dimensia!"**_

* * *

**Author's Notes: **

_****Sashiburi de ^^ Thank you everyone for reading so far. I'm also sorry that it took me so long to upload. I've been feeling so preoccupied with other things. Namely drawing. **_

**_**It's summer now. Yay! That probably means I might not be getting ample chances to upload chapters :'C But its okay. It's summer so I'm sure you guys have awesome things planned :D_**

**_**If the story seems like its dragging on, that might be because at some times it is. I've got a plot, but it keeps getting revised sometimes. This story is not going to be short, I'm just warning you now o.o I don't do short! That's probably another reason why I keep procrastinating on these chapters. I want to give myself time to think about ways to make the story better..._**

**_**Lulz, did anyone forsee Fang joining the Turks to go look for her friends? _**

**_**Read and Review! Thank you everyone for reading! ^^_**

**-Ja ne!**

**-Kamikimmy13 **


	16. Chapter 15 - Training Continues

**CHAPTER 15**

* * *

_TRAINING: DAY TWO_

**SPLASH!**

**"GOD DAMN YOU TIDUS!"**

The spiky-haired menace quickly dipped out of the room, leaving a new metal bucket in place of the wooden one he'd had the day earlier. He had only been made the official waker-uper for 24 hours, and he was already starting to enjoy it waaaay too much.  
I threw the blankets off and wrang what water I could out of my hair and clothes before I picked up my untensils for the morning, and my shoes, and headed out of the door. 10 minutes later I'd stepped outside, and the frigid, unfriendly, air smacked me in the face all at once, sending uncontainable shivers throughout my entire body. I convulsed all the way to the city entrance, and was very surprised to see that the grumpy, Sergeant Lightning had been replaced with silent, ex-soldier Cloud.

"I-I-I-I'mmmmm h-h-h-heere..." I whispered.

Cloud simply nodded to me, then began to walk.

"...Wh-wh-wh-wh-where's L-Lightn-n-ning?" I asked him shortly after we'd left.

"We switched today." He said.

If they were going to take turns, they could've at least told me. Not that it would've really made a difference, but it was just the thought that counts...Regardless, I nodded in response, and kept up with him to the best of my ability...

...Which was hardly any ability at all.

This second day was no better than the first. Cloud reached our meeting point with incredible ease, about 5 minutes before I did. When I finally arrived, his reaction was almost no different from Lightning's. He was surprised that I had trailed so far behind, and amused even at the condition I was in.

Five minutes later I collapsed onto the ground before Cloud, panting heavily, and coughing from inhaling all the dust in the air.

"You're finally here." He said. "So let's start with-"

"**NO!** HAVE MERCY!" I screeched. "Can a chick catch her breath first?! A mile is a long walk bro!"

"Really?" Cloud asked rhetorically.

"Yes." I panted, shooting him an unamused glower. "I don't...I don't know...know how you all...do it..."

"Training. We start in five minutes. Do you have your sword?"

I lazily slapped its sheath in response.

"Alright. You won't need your pistol today."

I gave him a half-hearted thumbs up.

We started exactly five minutes later, and not a minute after. Despite my reluctance to move, Cloud made me do stretches and a plethora of other exercises that contorted my body in odd and painful ways. When we'd finally finished about an hour and a half later, I was in the same state I'd started in as a lifeless blob on the floor.

"Good work so far." He said.

"Knfkas lsdbmn sa..." I mumbled.

"Whatever that meant." He responded. "We're doing sword training for the rest of the morning." Cloud plucked his Buster Sword out of the ground. He'd kept it safely tucked away in there since we started the exercises.

"Come on, stand up." He pressed.

I obeyed. Stood up, and slid my sword lazily out of its sheath.

"Am I going to have to fight you?" I asked.

"Eventually, yes." Cloud said.

"That's not fair, your sword is three times my body mass."

Cloud grinned and shook his head. "You'll be fine."

The spiky blond clutched the Buster Sword in his hands and held it in battle-ready stance.

"The first thing you should know about that weapon you're holding is that its just that. A weapon. It was made to kill. When you start thinking about the sword as a weapon instead of a play-thing, you'll start to respect it."

I nodded. _"Makes sense."_ Already I was starting to look at the Blazefire Saber prototype a little differently.

"The part you hold is the hilt, and the rest is just the blade. We could go further but its not that important. You should at least know the make-up of what you're holding." He continued.

I nodded again. _"Ya learn somethin new everyday..."_

"Alright. Now hold it like you're going to fight me." He instructed.

I thought about it for a second, then I buckled my knees and held the sword out in front of me with both hands.

Cloud gave me a look.

"...I said we're about to fight, not play a round of badminton. What kind of stance is that?" He said sarcastically.

I pouted at him and dropped my arm.

"Try again." He said.

I turned my body sideways and thrust my arm forward in a fencing position.

Cloud shook his head again. "Let's be serious."

"I AM being serious!" I argued.

"Try again."

I thought on a stance for a second, referring back to all the sword-fighters I'd played with in _"Arcadian Warrior."_ Now that I thought about it, the sword-fighters all stood in a unique battle-ready position that suited their appearance as well as the sword they used. A lightbulb then flashed in my head, and I held my sword up like a batter getting ready to swing. I was feeling genuinely proud of my stance until Cloud said:

"_Absolutely_ not. That's strike 3."

I sighed, defeated, and shrugged at him. "I don't know what you want me to do! I don't know how to hold this...thing!"

"Lightning has the same sword." Cloud said. "Have you seen her fighting stance? She stands straight, and confident..."

I thought back to Sector Zero. Now that he'd brought it up, she did. But Lightning was different. She was a soldier. She had been trained in this type of lifestyle far longer than I had ever been-or would ever be. She knew how to fight, how to stand, and how to take out a target in a timely fashion without killing herself in the process. Me on the other hand, had never seen a sword up close-let alone held one-until this point in time, I was not a fighter by nature, and the only sword-fighting combat I'd ever done was with my favorite character: "Frida," in _"Arcadian Warrior."_ I would never be comparable to Lightning. Full stop.

"...Confidence." Cloud said, breaking my train of thought.

"Huh?"

"That's what you're missing."

"Wha?! I am VERY confident!" I retorted.

Cloud shook his head. "It's obvious."

"How so?"

"The way you "hold" that sword is one indication. And aside from that, I've been watching you. From back in Sector Zero. But it was obvious that day that we all had to introduce each other in the ship. You walk with your head down, and when you talk to people, you tense up, like you're guarding yourself. Even now you aren't looking me in the eye even when I'm talking to you."

I slowly brought my eyes up to meet his. It wasn't like he was lying. Even my family had taken notice.

"Not everyone can be loud and bold you know..." I told him.

"You don't have to, to be confident."

Cloud walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "As long as you're around us, you're not allowed to be shy. Start walking with your chin up. You're better than that."

I blinked.

"...Okay..."

* * *

_TRAINING: DAY THREE_

**SPLASH!**

**"TIIIIIIDUUUUUUUSSSS!" YOU AAAASSSWIIIIPE!"**

I woke up once more, shivering and soaking wet. Today was an off-day for me. Kind of. Lightning would be training me today, and she had decided to start at high noon. But Tidus the jerk-bucket woke me up early on purpose!

I zipped after him down the hallway, and chased him throuought the hotel, continuing even when the cranky neighbors had woken up and told us to "Stop being delinquents." I spent a good 15 minutes running after him, but he got away after he leapt through an open window in the lobby and escaped by running around the back of the inn. I was cranky, hungry, sore, and tired. And ain't nobody had time for that.

I would be forced to air-dry. Again. So I began to walk back to my room to grab a towel, when I ran into Snow, Barret, Lightning and Vanille all gathered in the dining room of the inn. They were surrounded by foods that looked identical to eggs, bacon, muffins, fruits, and other breakfast delicacies. Some of them actually looked the part while other clearly did not. Regardless, I hadn't eaten any breakfast since...since I came to this world, and I didn't want the opportunity to slip me by today. Without caring about my clothes, I sped into the dining room.

"Hey! Mornin' Kiddo!" Snow grinned, lifting his hand up to me in greeting.

"Mornin' kid!" Barret greeted me before quickly returning to his plate to inhale its contents. Vanille smiled at me and waved, giving me a high pitched "Top of the Mornin', Winter!" Lightning said nothing to me. As usual.

"Morning!" I smiled, taking in the scent of breakfast. I pulled up a chair next to Barret and looked over the food choices. My mouth watered and my pupils dilated at the sight. I could just gobble it all up, whole. Wrappers, plate, everything.

"So, Winter! Been training hard?" Snow asked me.

I nodded. "Too hard. I'm still sore all over."

"Great!" Snow smiled. "No pain, no gain!"

I grinned half-heartedly as I rubbed my stiff neck-bone.

"Help yourself to breakfast, Winter! The food tastes great!" Vanille encouraged.

"Don't mind if I do-"

As I was reaching over to grab what looked like a blueberry bran muffin, my hand was abruptly slapped away by Lightning. I just stared at her, wondering what in God's name that I could have possibly done wrong.

"That's not breakfast." She said simply.

I shot her a death glare.

"It's true." Snow agreed. "That's all just sugar. Don't worry kid, I'll fix your plate."

Snow got up from his seat and disappeared into the staff's kitchen, and didn't return for several minutes. I was_ sooo_ tempted to sneak at least a nibble from that muffin, but Lightning wouldn't have it.

When Snow finally came back, in his hands was a single cup filled to the brim with a drink in green, black, and brown layers, as well as a...grimy...and grainy...texture...

He placed the drink in front of me with a cheesy grin and said: "Soup's on kiddo!"

I stared at the cup blankly for a few seconds. Then I arched my neck to look around it and underneath the table for the REAL breakfast. The contents of the cup smelled like feet, death, and body odor but mostly death, it was self-brewing and bubbling, There was a strange, green cloud hovering over it, and I swear that I saw something like an ant lying in it, cringing the way it does when its starting to die. The "beverage" was lethal until proven otherwise by someone other than myself.

"Sweet mother Bahamut!" Barret exclaimed, covering his nose and skidding his chair across the wooden floor and away from the table. "Good lord, what is _that_?!"

"Health!" Snow answered.

Lightning and Vanille wrinkled their nose at the mysterious concoction also and fanned the smell away from their faces.

Snow pushed the cup further towards me and I _immediately_ recoiled, grabbing onto the back of the chair for protection.

"Go on, it's all yours!" Snow pressed. "This is the 100% guaranteed way to boost your strength, metabolism, endurance, and...um...bravery."

"There is no power in heaven nor hell that could possibly convince me to put THAT in MY body." I said stiffly.

"Drink it." Lightning demanded, just as I expected.

"HELL no." I refuted.

"_Drink it_." She pressed.

"That's not going to happen."

"Drink it or I'm going to make you regret it in training."

"I'm NOT drinking that."

"Suit yourself. You start off with 900 pushups."

"LIES!"

"Don't test me."

I blinked. She meant it. The suffering I endured that first day began to resonate in the depths of my body. I could already feel the soreness and the nausea creeping back up my digestive system. She had made sure I did_ every single_ exercise, and had worked me so hard that I threw up three times, and was forced to take a break for an hour because my body completely shut down and refused to do anymore. I went to sleep at about 6:00 in the afternoon that day, sore in my sleep, sore when I woke up, restless, and in pain, and all of the potions I took wouldn't solve the problem. There weren't enough negative adjectives to accurately describe all the hell that she'd put me through that day...

...Suddenly, the drink didn't seem so bad.

Slowly, I reached for the cup.

My hand clamped down on the glass, as if my body had to assure itself that I was really doing this. I inched the cup closer to me, until it was finally up to my mouth. The stench was so much more powerful when it was up close to my face. I had to clasp my fingers down on my nose so that the smell wouldn't knock me out, and after saying a quick prayer, I opened my mouth and chugged the whole thing down as quickly as possible, earning a chorus of: "EW!" and "Oh my God!"

The minute it was all down I started to get dizzy. I slammed the empty glass onto the table and began to fan myself. I was sweating, and panting, my mouth felt like it was on fire, I was nauseous because it felt like I'd been drinking vomit, and I was starting to see two of everything. "Are you okay, Winter?!" Vanille asked, alarmed.

"I'm...defenitely...not..." With that, I fell sideways out of my chair, clutching my stomach and gasping for breath.

"Uh oh-" Barret exclaimed, jumping out of his seat. Vanille ran around the table and bent down at my side, placing her hand on my head. Snow shot up from his chair and strained his neck past the table to make sure I was still alive, and Lightning stared at me, completely shocked.

"For Etro's sake Snow! What did you put in there?!" She asked her partner, who was as shocked as she was.

"The good stuff! All the greens I could find, some fruits to give it flavor, and some potions. I knew it wouldn't taste amazing but I didn't think it'd do THAT."

"Her heartrate's goin' down! Someone get Yuna!" Barret announced.

"Oh no! She's DYING! Winter! Stay with me! How many fingers am I holding up?!" Vanille shrieked.

"I'm Coco the wonderfish..." I mumbled.

Lightning gave Snow a disapproving look, and began to walk towards the western-style swinging doors that led into the hotel lobby. "Great job. So everyone's favorite hero murders children now." She mumbled.

Snow quickly followed after her. "I didn't do anything! YOU'RE the one who forced her to drink it!"

"Winter! Are you okay?! Are you conscious?!" Vanille pressed.

"Hi Little Piggy!" I giggled, wiggling my pointer finger around. "My name is Coco! Can we be friends?!" I raised my other finger and wiggled that one around, saying "Of course Coco! I'm your biggest fan!" In a low-pitched, manly voice.

I heard Yuna running in a little later, followed by a couple of other feet, as well as Snow's voice saying: "I didn't know anything! I swear!"

Those were that last things my senses picked up before they shut down, and I was completely lost to oblivion.

Needless to say, my training for today had been cancelled.

* * *

_**I don't really know what to put here since these Training Chapters are more like "necessary filler chapters!" But just know that the story will be progressing nicely! And stay tuned for the next chapter of **_**"White Snow Dimensia!**_**"**_

* * *

**Author's Notes: **

_****Wow, this is the shortest chapter I've ever written! I really wanted to add more, to get into the behind-the-scenes with the characters while Winter was unconscious, but I didn't know what to write. It would have been entirely too long. Even for me. Plus, it kinda sorta gets hinted at. Goodness! Story-writing is so tricky sometimes...**_

_****I've got the dreaded Writer's Block! I'm stuck at Chapter 24! Granted that's a long ways from here but its still a struggle. o.o **_

_****I Just finished watching the cutscene-movie for FF Crisis Core! ...I cried. Long live Zack! C':**_

_****To: LightningPanda - LULZ! 12-13?! Please, I must know why you thought that! Is it because she seems childish?! Ty for your feedback!**_

_****__****Random Fact! This chapter has exactly 2,900 words in it! **_

_****Thank you everyone for reading this far. R&R**_

**-Kamikimmy13**


	17. From me to You :D

From me to You:

_A note from the Author_

* * *

7/27/13

Hmm, I'm not quite sure if I need to write this, but I suppose I'll keep it in just in case anyone is curious. C:

I just want everyone to know that I have NOT abandoned this story. I love it very much. And it would be the only story that I've actually been motivated enough to actually finish. Ever.

I know that in previous chapters I'd written in the comments that I had written well past that current chapter. However, this next chapter after the last one was in major need of editing due to lack of sense and purpose. To be frank, it was just too stupid. And to be honest, the re-write is pretty long and I still haven't finished it yet. And then from there I realized that I would have to re-write _all_ of the chapters coming after. Or at least _most of them_. I started it at the beginning of my summer, but then shortly afterwards things just got hectic.

And although it pains me to say this, I must! I just don't have the time anymore to add on to the story! ;A; At least for now. You see, between summer assignments, summer camp, crap-loads of family members crashing at my house, preparing for a certain convention, and then becoming enamored with rmvx Ace/ development for that game I'm making, I have literally no time in the day to sit down and scheme up chapters. It's never quiet enough lol.

However I've got the whole plot scripted out from start to finish, and although it still needs tweaking, I won't lose my place unless the plot changes again, but I don't think it will. Not too much anyway.

So that is all I had to say. I think I wrote this mainly out of my own guilt xDD.

Also, _domo arigatou gozaimasu_ for all of the comments. They make my day, especially the last few I got on the last chapter lulz xD.

Alright, now I'm really done. :D Thank you for reading!

Will update sooner than later!

**-Kamikimmy13**


	18. Chapter 16 - A Swindler and a Moogle

_I was…floating._

_A gentle breeze kissed my skin and lightly tousled my hair. There was nothing here except this breeze…or so it seemed. But I didn't know. My eyes wouldn't open. My mouth would not make words, and my body would not move._

_How long had I been in this dream? Where was I? What was happening around me? Even if the only thing I could do was breathe, it all felt…real. Moreso than a dream, yet too little to be believable. What I wanted, was to wake up. I wanted to see a familiar face. It felt like I was just going to float in this place, wherever it was, alone, for only God knew how long._

_But then someone reached out to me._

_Their presence was other wordly and could not be described. I couldn't see them, but I felt them there._

_"Do you know why you're here?" The voice asked me._

_"…Where is here…?" I replied._

_"Put simply, it is your resting place."_

_"…Resting place…? You mean I…This is…it? But, that…that can't be…!"_

_"Why not?"_

_"Because I…I did…nothing. I never truly lived at all…I spent my life hindered, by my own fear…"_

_"Fear of what?"_

_"…The world. The future…People told me that I had a purpose in life. They said that you couldn't die until you completed your purpose. But I was scared to find out what that purpose was, because I thought it would lead me…here…prematurely.…If this is really it, then I'll spend eternity in regret. I wish I'd embraced my future instead of avoided it. My life was completely wasted. I accomplished nothing..."_

_"Your destiny is yet to be realized. Wherever you came from, your spirit found rest here. It was only through death that your purpose could ever be discovered."_

_"…Meaning what exactly…?"_

_"You can stay here and wither away for the rest of eternity, or you can live again to embrace it. The choice is yours."_

_And then, as if a spell had been lifted, I gained control of my body back. I reached out in front of me, waving my hand around until it was met by another. And I held onto it, opening my eyes just in time to see a brilliant, blinding light flash in front of me._

_"Who are you?" asked the voice._

_"…I'm…Winter." I said._

_"Hm. You're the girl from the…"_

* * *

I woke up to find myself reaching towards the ceiling. Quickly, I sat bolt upright and patted myself down, then looked out of the window. I could see, I was breathing, and could move on my own – the exact opposite of being dead. Realizing this I heaved a sigh of relief. It had only been a dream, but still, after having a dream where you're dead, it sure is great to wake up and realize you've still got time left.

…What was said in that dream however, it lingered with me. And it hit home. The whole bit about…finding your purpose. What if I _did_ die without ever making my life of worth to someone or something? What if I just wasted it all, and really _did_ have to leave Earth having regrets forever? What could be worse, earnestly seeking out a future that could end up being my worst nightmare, or dying without even taking that risk?

Even now, I didn't know. And I knew I still didn't want to find out.

So instead, I shook myself out of it and pushed the dream into the back of my head. I would just do like Vanille suggested and "face it later." Besides…You have no control over your future anyway. _"Que sera, sera"_ ya know?

Once I got _that _out of my head, my body reminded me of something else. My stomach still felt like it was trying to be yanked out of my body through my small intestine no thanks to a certain blond.

I got up to go look for someone to ask them if there was a potion for this pain, but as it turned out, nobody was here. All of the hotels rooms that our little group was supposed to be in were empty, and everyone's weapons and shoes were gone. I wasn't sure what that meant for me, other than that I was going to be quite salty today.

Come to think of it, the entire hotel was quiet. It couldn't have been that early, when I'd looked outside earlier, the sun had to have been positioned from at least 'high noon' to 'one o' clock'. My curiosity led me to venture down to the first floor lobby, where I found the kids huddled around a table counting gold coins. Not knowing what else to do, I hobbled over to join them.

"30…31…32…33…" Denzel droned.

"Hey you three, what's going on?" I asked, leaning over Marlene's shoulder to take a peek at the coins strewn about the table.

"We can't tell you." Denzel said flatly, continuing to drop one coin after another from his hand into a small pile in front of him. "It's a secret. _Right everyone?" _

Marlene nodded, and I felt betrayed. Then the two turned to Dajh.

"_Dajh?" _ Marlene said with a warning tone – the kind your parents give you when they know you've done something/ are going to do something stupid and they warn you that if you do, you'll get your butt kicked.

Dajh bit his lip, but that didn't stop him from bursting. He inhaled before blurting out **"iownewqkomewc eijemiewaiwmowirjonmoejaieww!"** and face-desked.

"DAJH!" The two kids yelled at their smaller companion.

"We had a Pact of Silence!" Marlene protested.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry…But, Daddy said it's not good to keep secrets…" He mumbled from the table.

"Wait, _whaat?_ 'KNMALKNLJGENSG' to you too, Dajh!" I exclaimed.

"He said 'We're trying to buy a moogle from the travelling salesman." Denzel said, finally turning away from the coins to look at me. "There's a travelling salesman that comes by Kalm every once in a while, but he sells things on the black market."

I blinked. "So why do you want to buy anything from him?"

"Because moogles are illegal to sell!" Marlene spoke up.

"As is everything on the black market." I told her.

"But this is different. We're worried that the moogle is being abused." Denzel explained. "And if it's on the Black Market, it'll die and just get replaced without anyone ever caring about it. We want to show it to the authorities and stop this Moogle Poaching."

"But we'll have to buy it first." Dajh moped.

"And we're short by 110 gil…" Denzel announced.

Marlene's face fell. She placed her head in her hand and slumped onto the table.

"…Guys, guys," I grinned. "I'm sure there's a way to earn some extra money—or, uh, _gil_, around here. Why don't we ask around to see if anyone has an odd job they want done?"

"What's that?" Dajh asked.

"Just a job that you do that nobody else will. If we ask in the right places you'll be swimming in gil in a few hours!"

The kids looked at each other.

The next several hours were spent hopping from store to store, asking for things to do, starting with the Inn itself. We did everything from normal jobs like washing dishes to cruel and unusual things like shifting through a pile of month old "leftovers" for a lost trinket (which we never found.) We walked out of the last store feeling victorious, finally having gotten above and beyond the required amount of gil. Having done so, we marched over to the other side of town to a back alley where the merchant was lurking.

I'm not sure if the kids saw it or not, but on our way there, the merchant spotted us and turned to a cage idling on his stall. He moved his arm slightly before turning around to face us again, with one of those stupid, cheesy grins that a Used Car Salesman gives you when you walk into the lot.

I returned his smile with a poker face. It was _so_ on.

The kids approached him. After a silent exchange of words, the merchant said: "Well, show me the gil, kiddos!"

Marlene and Dajh nodded at Denzel, who handed the pouch of gil over. The man greedily snatched it up and dumped all the contents onto the table, sorting through them and counting under his breath. The kids waited patiently for him to give the verdict. And when he did, as I'd expected, it wasn't in their favor.

"You're 200 gil short." He said.

"WHAT?!" We shrieked.

"There's 300 gil in that pouch!" Denzel argued. "In fact, you owe us change!"

"Change? How so? It _IS_ this lovely moogle that you've come to claim as yours, yes?" He said, revealing the cage from just a second ago. The creature inside looked like some kind of bat/teddy-bear/cat crossbread and donned a ruby red pompom on its head. I had never seen anything like it before, but even _I _knew that with its pale green tinted fur, tired looking eyes, and the wheezing sounds it was making that it was sick and needed help. Like, NOW.

"Yeah!" Marlene said.

"Well, last time I checked, the price was 500 gil."

"Liar! You said 110 gil!" Dajh protested.

"Oh did I?" Where's your proof?"

The kids blinked, and gave each other skeptical glances.

"We all heard you!" They said at the same time.

"Yes, well, who else did? There weren't any witnesses here when we made that deal, did we?" And as for the 300 gil, there's only 110 in this pouch. Surely you didn't think I would charge such a mediocre price for such a rare specimen, did you? OHOHOHO! The children of today are indeed naïve!"

Marlene turned to me with a nasty scowl on her face. I couldn't blame her, anyone would be pissed. In court of law, his point was valid. But he had no right to speak, he was dealing on the black market—

My stomach gave way to a staggering pain just then, causing me to clutch the area in pain. Right now, I just wanted to go home and lay down in bed. I didn't want to deal with this fool. I had half a mind to just grab the moogle and run.

"It looks like you'll just have to come back later with another 490 gil. Make it snappy, yes? I leave when the sunsets."

"Listen, mister. That moogle needs help." I said defiantly, holding Dajh's hand back when he turned to leave.

"If you wanna help it so bad, then show me the gil." He smirked.

"How about YOU show ME your license to _sell_ these things?" I grumbled, my voice grave from the stomach pains.

His smirk faded.

The kids skipped away with a sick moogle and 290 gil. They were willing to give him the original selling price in exchange for the moogle. Even though he tried to swindle them all, they still felt bad for him. They were good kids. As for me, to be honest, if I hadn't been sick myself, I probably would've suggested that we go find some more jobs to do, just to avoid the argument. But the stench of those leftovers reminded me of Snow's drink, and I just knew that Hell would have to have a snowstorm before that shameless swindler forced me to go find another job like _that._

When we got back, we brought the creature to the kids' room, took it out of its cage, and tossed the metal prison elsewhere. Then we examined its current condition. My being presence there wasn't exactly helping anyone though; it's not like I knew how to "fix" a Moogle.

"Anyone got any potions?" Denzel asked.

"No…" We replied in unison.

"I guess we should go buy some then." I suggested. "It's not sunset just yet, so the stores should be open still, right?"

Denzel nodded, then picked up the bag of gil. "I'll be back in a flash."

Dajh followed him out, leaving just Marlene and I to look after the tiny creature.

"Poor baby…" Marlene lamented, reaching over to pat down its sickly-shaded fur. "Don't worry, we'll fix you up…Oh yeah! By the way, Winter, before Tifa left, she told me to give you this…"

The young girl opened up a drawer and pulled out a cell phone and a notecard with chicken scratch written in red marker. I took the objects and examined them, not really sure what to do with either of them. On the back of the card however were things I DID recognize. Numerals. What looked like someone's phone number was scribbled onto the back.

"Tifa told me not to peek at the card, so I didn't." Marlene grinned. "She said everything you need to know is written on it."

_"Perfect."_ I thought, mentally face-palming. _"Well, hopefully, we won't need this—" _

As if on cue, to interrupt my thoughts, the sounds of enormous helicopter rotors overhead sounded throughout the entire area. Through the window in the kids' room, Marlene and I saw dust being lifted off of the ground, and heard some kind of an engine roaring, then slowly stopping. The two of us looked at each other, then without speaking, I snatched up the Moogle and the two of us headed outside.

A giant airship had landed smack dab in the center of Kalm. On one side of the huge vessel was an insignia. It showed three golden 'S's' layered on top of a Planet, layered on top of a banner, with Chicken Scratch printed across it. I had no idea what I was looking at, but after taking a look at the men in blue uniforms marching out of the airship and the more official looking group of six walking out in suits, I didn't feel very good. Marlene gasped, and took a step back towards the inn.

"Shinra's here…" She said.

* * *

**Hooray for uploads! I have no idea what to put down here :D**

**Truthfully, writing these specific set of chapters is so difficult! Its because I just can't picture what's happening for some bizarre reason. I hope I can get out of this rut soon. Until then, thank you everyone for reading. ^^**


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